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SKETCHES 


PUBLIC  CHARACTERS. 

DRAWJT  FROM 

THE  LIVING  AND  THE  DEAD. 

WITH 

NOTICES  OF  OTHER  MATTERS.     . 

BY 
IGNATIUS  LOYOLA  ROBERTSOX,  L»  L.  ». 

A   RESIDENT   OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 


: "  He  that  writes, 

Or  makes  a  feast,  more  certainly  invites 

His  judges  than  his  friends  ;  there's  not  a  guest . 

But  will  find  something  wanting  or  ill  drest." 

"But here,  where  Freedom's  equal  throne 

To  all  her  valiant  sons  is  known  ; 

Where  all  are  conscious  of  her  cares, 

And  each  the  power  that  rules  him  shares, 

Here  let  the  bard,  whose  dastard  tongue, 

Leaves  public  arguments  unsung, 

Bid  public  praise  farewell  ; 

Let  him  to  fitter  climes  remove. 

Far  from  the  hero's  and  the  patriot's  lova, 

And  lull  mysterious  monks  to  elumber  in  their  cell. 


NEW -YORK: 
PUBLISHED  BY  E.  BLISS. 

AHD  SOLD   BI  G.  C.  &  H.  CARVILt.;   W.~B.  GILLEY,  AND  C.  S. 
FRANCIS.      BOSTON,  BILLIARD,  GRAT,  dt  CO.  AND  CAR- 
TER &   HENDEF..      PHILADELPHIA,   JOHN   GRIGG, 
AND    CARET   &.  HART. 

1830. 

G.  L.  Austin,  &  Co.  Printers. 


Southern  District  of  New- York,  »t. 

BE  IT  RE- 
MEMBERED, That  on  the  eleventh  day  of  June,  A.  D.  1S30, 
in  the  55ih  year  of  I  lie  Independence  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  Elam  Bliss,  of  the  said  district,  hath  deposited 
in  this  office  the  title  of  a  book,  the  right  whereof  lie  claims 
as  proprietor,  in  the  words  following,  to  wit. 

"Sketches  of  Public  Characters.  Drawn  from  the  living 
and  the  dead,  with  noticesof  other  matters,  by  Ignatius  Loyo- 
la Robinson,  L.  L.  D.  a  resident  of  the  United  States. 


;  He  that  writes, 


'  Or  makes  a  feast,  more  certainly  invites 

'  His  judges  than  his  friends  ;  there  is  not  a  guest, 

'  But  will  find  something  wanting,  or  ill  drest." 

'  But  here,  where  freedom's  equal  throne 
'To  all  her  valiant  sons  is  known  ; 
'Where  all-are  conscious  of  her  cares, 
'  And  each  the  power  that  rules  him  share?, 
'  Here  let  the  bard,  whose  dastard  tongue 
'  Leaves  public  arguments  unsung, 
'  Bid  public  praise  farewell; 
"1  Let  him  to  fitter  climes  remove, 
;  Far  from  the  hero's -and  the  patriot's  love, 
1  And  lull  mysterious  monks  to  slumber  in  their  cell." 

Irvconformity  to  the  actofthe  Congress  of  the  Uniied  States, 
intituled,  "An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning  by  se- 
curing the  copies  of  maps,  charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors 
and  proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the  times  therein  men- 
tioned;" and  also  to  the  act  entitled,  "  AH  act  supplementary 
to  an  act,  entitled,  "An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learn- 
ing, by  securing  the  copies  of  maps,  charts,  and  books,  to  the 
authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies  during  the  times  there- 
in mentioned,"  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  Arts 
of  designing,  engraving,  and  etching  historical  and  other 

prints." 

FRED.  J.  BETTS, 

Clerk  of  the  Southern  District  of  New-York. 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  I. 

Webster       ',   .• 

• 

5 

LETTER  11. 

Calhoun 

(!>,... 

.     30 

LETTER  III. 

Everett 

.^c   .*. 

.    "      33 

'•      T-- 

Livingston 

LETTER  IV. 

.     31 

LETTER  V. 

Jones                .*. 

< 

41 

i 

LETTER  VI. 

Randolph 

',,       •       .,.- 

.     47 

LETTER  VII. 

Johnson 

- 

.     53 

LETTER  VIII. 

Dwight              .  . 

57 

LETTER  IX. 

The  Presidents 

•            •         •'  •            • 

.     63 

LETTER  X. 

City  of  Washington 

LETTER  XI. 

The  Capitol — its  ornaments 


82 


.  100 


/f   A 


1V  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  XII. 

The  President's  House  "."  .  .         110 

LETTER  XIII. 

.library  of  Congress — Columbian  Institute — Lit- 
erature of  Washington — Periodicals  .         117 

LETTER  XIV. 

Colonization    Society— The      Clergy — Medical 
School — Orphan  Asylum — Tyber  Creek — Man- 
ners and  Customs — College — Convent  of  Vis-j| 


itation 

t  • 

.   132 

LETTER  XV. 

New-  York  —  Poets       .            .            .  . 

157 

LETTER  XVI. 
Basil  Hall—  O\ven 

.  179 

Painters 

LETTER  XVII. 

194 

Dr.  Mitchell 

LETTER  XVIII. 

.  205 

Boston 

LETTER    XIX. 

212 

Bartlet 

LETTER  XX. 

.  219 

LETTER   XXI. 
Gen.  Brown—  Tudor—  Judge  Washington 

241 

Patent  Office 

LETTER  XXII. 

.  253 

DEDICATION. 

TO  COLONEL  A.  WARD, 

OF  WESTCHESTER  COUXTY,  N.  Y. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  DEDICATE  this  little  work  to  you,  re- 
membering, with  pleasure  and  gratitude,  your 
kindness  in  rendering  me  every  facility  in  grati- 
fying my  curiosity,  on  my  first  visit  to  Washing- 
ton, while  you  held  a  seat  in  Congress.  I  had 
been  long  enough  in  the  United  States  to  feel 
an  attachment  to  the  country  ;  and  I  would  not 
yield  a  particle  of  my  reverence  for  the  distin- 
guished men  of  it,  to  any  reviler  of  them,  who- 
ever he  might  be.  There  is  only  one  point  in 
which  I  am  often  constrained  to  agree  with  those 
who  are  unfriendly  to  this  nation,  and  that  from 
the  truth  of  the  remark,  not  the  temper  of  it. 


vi  DEDICATION. 

They  say  that  "  you  never  think  of  a  man,  howe- 
ver great  his  virtues,  and  his  talents,  when  he 
is  out  of  office  ;  that  sometimes,  at  the  death  of 
some  one  who  has  filled  a  considerable  space 
in  the  world,  your  gazettes  praise  him  to-day, 
and  this  is  curtailed  in  to-morrow's  paper  ;  and 
by  the  time  the  next  edition  of  an  American  Bi- 
ographical Dictionary  is  printed,  he  appears  in 
a  flat,  chalky  picture,  of  half  a  column,  as  grace- 
less as  his  epitaph,  in  some  country  church- 
yard,  where  his  bones  may  rest ;  and  this,  per- 
haps, a  character  whose  lights  and  shades,  pro- 
perly disposed  of,  might  have  been  made  a  splen- 
did portrait." 

The  writers  of  the  day  should  speak  freely  of 
the  living  ;  the  truly  great  have  nothing  to  fear ; 
the  oftener  their  merits  are  discussed,  the  better 
for  them.  In  countries  like  England  and  the 
United  States,  the  abodes  of  free  institutions  and 
freer  minds,  every  thing  should  be  presented  in 
full  relief ;  political  and  civil  rights  should  be 
closely  examined,  and  the  manners,  habits,  and 
morals  of  the  people,  become  a  common  topic  : 
the  characters,  services,  claims,  and  pretensions 
of  men  in  high  places,  should  be  searched  out 
and  precisely  adjudged.  The  eyes  of  the  pa- 


DEDICATION.  vii 

triot  writer  should  never  be  shut  to  the  faults  of 
men  in  power,  whether  their  station  or  authority 
be  executive,  legislative,  ministerial,  or  subal- 
tern. I  write  my  creed  openly,  my  dear  sir, 
because  I  believe  in  it  sincerely  ;  but  ask  no 
man  to  follow  it  implicitly.  You  and  I  have  long 
since  settled  this,  that  to  be  friends,  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary to  agree  in  every  particular  in  politics 
or  religion ;  and  that  more  light  is  to  be  obtain- 
ed from  a  strong  and  an  honest  mind,  that  dif- 
fers from  us,  than  from  a  shallow  one  whose 
great  merit  is  his  acquiescence  ;  neither  you 
nor  I  love  feeble  spirits.  I  have  spoken  of  men, 
of  measures,  and  of  things,  after  my  own  man- 
ner  ;  no  one  is  answerable  but  myself:  if  there 
is  aught  of  evil  in  it,  be  it  mine  ;  if  aught  of 
good,  place  it,  if  you  please,  to  the  impres- 
sions  received  from  friends  and  intimate  ac- 
quaintances. You  will  probably  revisit  the  seat 
of  government  again  as  a  politician  ;  your  ser- 
vices and  talents  will  be  wanted.  I  shall  not  be 
there,  as  a  looker-on  in  Venice;  but  whatever 
may  be  your  pathway  in  the  journey  of  life, 
whether  in  the  courts  of  justice  or  in  the  halls 
of  the  legislature,  may  you  be  successful  and 
happy,  and  still  retain  that  bland  and  courteous 


viii  DEDICATION. 

disposition,  and  that  love   to   do  kind   things, 
which  secures  the  good  man's  benison,  and  the 
orphan's  prayer ;    and   without  which   talents, 
office,  and  fame,  ate  empty  names. 
Most  truly, 

Your  devoted  friend, 

THE  AUTHOR. 
NEW- YORK,  JUNE,  1830. 


SKETCHES. 


LETTER  X. 

Washington,  Jan.  1830. 
DEAR  SIR, 

You  are  among  the  few  in  your  coun- 
try who  take  an  interest  in  the  affairs  of  this  ; 
and  in  compliance  with  your  request,  I  shall 
from  time  to  time  send  you  such  notes  as  I 
have  made,  or  shall  make  of  men  and  things 
in  the  United  States.  I  have  seen  and  heard 
much  during  the  seventeen  years  I  have  resi- 
ded in  the  United  States,  and  think  I  can  speak 
with  honesty  and  candour  of  their  institutions, 
their  men,  and  of  their  affairs.  Having  assu- 
med the  responsibility  of  a  citizen  I  shall  call 
it  my  country.  As  the  alarms  of  war  have 
passed  away,  it  is  natural  for  the  reading  pub- 
lic to  seek  for  descriptions  of  orators,  states- 
men, poets,  painters,  &c.  rather  than  of  war- 
riors or  heroes.  This  is  an  active,  thinking 
age,  and  mind  seems  to  be  getting  its  pro- 
per influence  in  the  community,  on  this  as 
well  as  on  the  other  side  of  the  water.  In  my 

2 


6  WEBSTER. 

remarks  upon  the  good  folks  of  this  country,  I 
shall  not  confine  myself  to  any  regular  or- 
der, but  give  you  my  opinions  as  they  arise 
in  my  mind,  believing  that  in  letters  from  one 
friend  to  another  there  should  be  no  disguise. 
With  this  I  send  you  several  of  the  public 
documents  printed  by  order  of  Congress,  and 
a  bundle  of  pamphlets  containing  some  of  the 
best  American  speeches,  and  also  forward  a 
slight  notice  of  some  of  the  most  distinguish. 
ed  speakers.  As  the  New-England  orator, 
Mr.  WEBSTER,  now  occupies  the  largest  space 
in  the  halls  of  Legislation,  I  shall  give  a 
sketch  of  him,  which  I  have  no  doubt  is  sub- 
stantially  accurate. 

The  person  of  Mr.  Webster  is  singular  and 
commanding  :  his  height  is  above  the  ordinary 
size,  but  he  cannot  be  called  tall  ;  he  is  broad 
across  the  chest,  and  stoutly  and  firmly  built, 
but  there  is  nothing  of  clumsiness  either  in  his 
form  or  gait.  His  head  is  very  large,  his 
forehead  high,  with  good  shaped  temples.  He 
has  a  large,  black,  solemn  looking  eye,  that 
exhibits  strength  and  steadfastness,  and  which 
sometimes  burns,  but  seldom  sparkles.  His 
hair  is  of  a  raven  black,  and  both  thick  and 
short,  without  the  mark  of  a  graj  hair.  His 
eye  brows  are  of  the  same  colour,  thick  and 
strongly  marked,  which  gives  his  features  the 


WEBSTER.  7 

appearance  of  sternness  ;  but  the  general^ ex- 
pression of  his  face  after  it  is  properly  examin- 
ed, is  rather  mild  and  amiable  than  otherwise. 
His  movements  in  the  house  and  in  the  street 
are  slow  and  dignified ;  there  is  no  peculiar 
sweetness  in  his  voice,  its  tones  are  rather 
harsh  than  musical,  still  there  is  a  great  varie- 
ty in  them ;  and  some  of  them  catch  the  ear 
and  chain  it  down  to  the  most  perfect  atten- 
tion. He  bears  traits  of  great  mental  labour, 
but  no  marks  of  age ;  in  fact,  his  person  is 
more  imposing  now,  in  his  forty-eighth  year, 
than  it  was  at  thirty  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Webster  was  born  in  the  state  of  New- 
Hampshire,  in  the  Town  of  Salisbury,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Mcrrimack  ;  his  early  education 
was  scanty,  for  at  that  time  the  public  schools 
in  that  part  of  New-England  where  he  lived 
were  not  in  the  same  state  they  now  are.  A 
few  months  of  instruction  from  some  badly  ed- 
ucated school -master  was  all  that  could  be  ob- 
tained at  home.  Mr,  Webster's  father  was  a 
man  of  note  in  his  neighbourhood  ;  sometimes 
a  representative  to  the  legislature,  a  county 
judge,  and  at  all  times  a  farmer  ;  having  seve- 
ral children,  he  did  not  feel  able  to  give  them 
the  advantages  of  a  liberal  education  ;  but  the 
faculties  of  his  son  Daniel  attracting  the  at- 
tention of  all  the  intelligent  part  of  the  com- 


V 


8  WEBSTER. 

munjty  about  him,  he  made  an  effort  and  sent 
him  to  an  academy  to  prepare  himself  for 
college.  The  sagacious  eye  of  his  instructor 
was  not  long  in  seeing  his  extraordinary  ca- 
pacity for  his  studies,  for  he  strode  before  his 
classmates  with  ease,  and  left  them  to  come 
up  as  they  could. 

In  1797  he  entered  Dartmouth  college,  and 
graduated  in  course  in  1801.  In  this  semina- 
ry he  was  distinguished  as  a  young  man  of 
astonishing  powers  of  mind  ;  but  he  coursed 
over  too  large  a  field  of  knowledge  to  allow 
him  time  for  those  minute  and  accurate  stu- 
dies whrch  alone  can  make  a  thorough  classi- 
cal scholar.  On  leaving  college  he  took  the 
charge  of  an  academy  for  a  year,  a  usual 
course  for  the  graduates  of  that  college,  and 
then  commenced  the  study  of  the  law.  He  re- 
mained a  considerable  time  in  the  country  in 
his  native  village  in  the  office  of  a  tasteful  and 
an  elegant  scholar,  but  who  was  then  enga- 
ged in  the  profitable  part  of  his  profession,  the 
collecting  business ;  and  this  practice  being 
soon  understood,  Mr.  Webster  was  desirous 
of  seeing  courts  and  witnessing  a  more  enlar- 
ged course  of  practice  ;  and  for  this  purpose 
went  to  Boston,  and  put  himself  under  the  care 
of  Christopher  Gore,  a  distinguished  advocate 
in  that  metropolis.  Gore  soon  saw  and  spoke 


WEBSTER.  9 

prophetically  of  the  talents  of  his  pupil.  Some 
political  essays  he  wrote  in  the  papers  at  that 
time  attracted  the  attention  of  men  of  judg- 
ment, and  these  productions  were  spoken  of  as 
exhibiting  great  vigour  and  point.  As  soon  as 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  he  returned  into 
the  country  and  commenced  the  practice  of 
his  profession  at  Boscawen,  the  town  adjoining 
his  native  village.  It  was  not  long  before  all 
eyes  were  turned  upon  him,  and  his  business 
rapidly  increased,  but  he  deemed  the  field  too 
narrow  for  him,  and  in  about  three  or  four 
years  he  left  Boscawen  for  Portsmouth,  the 
largest  town  in  New-Hampshire,  a  place  of 
extensive  commerce  and  great  enterprise. 
His  fame  had  preceded  him  ;  he  was  soon 
known  to  all,  and  employed  in  most  of  the  im- 
portant cases  in  the  courts  throughout  the 
State.  Smith  and  Mason  were  then  his  com- 
petitors ;  they  were  shrewd  and  learned  men, 
who  had  been  brought  up  in  a  school  of  sharp 
practice,  and  the  young  aspirant  for  distinction 
had  to  fight  them  hard,  and  he  did  beard  them 
by  all  the  subtleties  of  special  pleading  ;  and 
with  equal  taunts  and  gibes  and  sarcasms 
and  such  weapons,  inflicted  equal  harms  un- 
til they  acknowledged  him  as  their  peer,  and 
made  with  him  an  amnesty  that  was  perpetual. 
Mr.  Webster  has  often  said  that  this  was  a 


10  WEBSTER. 

good  school  for  him.  No  doubt  it  was  a  good 
thing  for  him  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  con- 
tending alone  with  his  seniors,  men  who  were 
at  the  upper  row  of  the  bar  and  had  long  mo- 
nopolized  the  best  business.  But  Mr.  Web- 
ster  had  not  been  at  the  bar  more  than  seven 
years  when  he  shared  with  them  the  leading 
cases  in  all  the  courts. 

At  this  time  party  spirit  ran  high,  and  the 
prominent  men  in  New-Hampshire  were 
anxious  to  see  Mr.  Webster  display  his  pow- 
ers in  the  halls  of  Congress. — He  had  taken 
sides  in  politics  in  early  life,  and  had  been  ac- 
tive with  his  pen  in  support  of  his  principles  ; 
but  he  never  suffered  his  zeal  to  get  the  better 
of  his  judgement ; — he  was  no  demagogue. 
The  first  halo  of  political  glory  that  hung 
around  his  brow  was  at  a  convention  of  all 
the  great  spirits  in  the  county  of  Rockingham, 
where  he  then  resided,  and  such  representa- 
tives from  other  counties  as  were  sent  to  this 
convention  to  take  into  consideration  the  state 
of  the  nation,  and  to  mark  out  such  a  course 
for  themselves  as  should  be  deemed  advisable 
by  the  collected  wisdom  of  those  assembled. 
On  this  occasion  an  address  with  a  string 

o 

of  resolutions  were  proposed  for  adoption, 
of  which  he  was  said  to  be  the  author.  They 
exhibited  uncommon  powers  of  intellect  and 


WEBSTER.  1 1 

a  profound  knowledge  of  our  national  interests. 
He  made  a  most  powerful  speech  in  support  of 
these  resolutions  ;  portions  of  which  were  re- 
printed at  that  time  and  which  were  much  ad- 
mired  in  every  part  of  the  Union.  From  this 
time  he  belonged  to  the  United  States,  and  not 
to  New-Hampshire  exclusively.  Massachu- 
setts seemed  to  take  as  deep  an  interest  in  his 
career  as  his  native  state.  Not  far  from  this  pe- 
riod, a  traveller  passing  through  Portsmouth, 
when  some  election  was  near  at  hand,  when 
at  the  inn  it  was  announced  over  the  dinner  ta- 
ble that  Mr.  Webster  was  to  speak  at  a  caucus 
that  evening  ;  this  news  ran  from  one  part  of 
the  town  to  another  and  all  were  enthusiast  ic  at 
hearing  that  Mr.  Webster  was  going  to  speak. 
The  gentleman's  carriage  came  to  the  door 
and  he  was  about  to  get  into  it,  when  the  hostler 
said,  sir,  are  you  going  to  leave  town  ?  Mr. 
Webster  is  to  speak  to  night.  The  gentleman 
finding  all  classes  so  much  delighted  to  hear 
that  Mr.  Webster  was  going  to  speak,  order- 
ed his  horses  to  the  stable,  and  put  off  his 
journey  until  the  morrow. 

At  early  candlelight  he  went  to  the  caucus 
room ;  it  was  filled  to  overflowing,  but  some 
persons  seeing  that  he  was  a  stranger  gave 
way,  and  he  found  a  convenient  place  to  stand ; 
no  one  could  sit.  A  tremendous  noise  soon 


12  WEBSTER. 

announced  that  the  orator  had  arrived  ;  but  as 
soon  as  the  meeting  was  organized,  another 
arose  to  make  some  remarks  upon  the  object  of 
the  caucus  ;  he  was  heard  with  a  polite  apathy ; 
another  and  another  came,  and  all  spoke  well, 
but  this  would  not  do,  and  if  Chatham  had 
been  among  them,  or  St.  Paul,  they  would  not 
have  met  the  expectations  of  the  multitude. 
The  beloved  orator  at  length  arose,  and  was 
for  a  while  musing  upon  some  thing  -which 
was  drowned  by  a  constant  cheering  :  but  when 
order  was  restored  he  went  on  with  great  se- 
renity and  ease,  to  make  his  remarks  without 
apparently  making  the  slightest  attempt  to 
gain  applause.  The  audience  was  still,  ex- 
cept  now  and  then  a  murmur  of  delight  which 
showed  that  the  great  mass  of  the  hearers  were 
ready  to  burst  into  a  thunder  of  applause, 
if  those  who  generally  set  the  example  would 
have  given  an  intimation  that  it  might  have 
been  done  ;  but,  they  devouring  every  word, 
made  signs  to  prevent  any  interruption.  The 
harrangue  was  ended ;  the  roar  of  applause 
lasted  long  and  was  sincere  and  heart-felt.  It 
was  a  strong,  gentlemanly,  and  an  appropriate 
speech,  but  not  a  particle  of  the  demagogue 
about  it ;  nothing  like  the  speeches  on  the 
hustings  to  catch  attention.  He  drew  a  pic- 
ture of  the  candidates  on  both  sides  of  the 


WEBSTER.  13 

question  and  proved,  as  far  as  reason  could 
prove,  the  superiority  of  those  of  his  own 
choice  ;  but  the  gentleman  traveller,  who  was 
a  very  good  judge,  has  often  said  that  the  most 
extraordinary  part  of  it  was  that  a  promiscu- 
ous audience  should  have  had  good  sense 
enough  to  relish  such  sound,  good  reasoning,  in 
a  place  where  vague  declamation  generally 
is  best  received. 

As  the  traveller  went  on  toward  the  East, 
he  found  the  fame  of  the  speech  had  preceded 
him  and  was  talked  of  in  every  bar  room  and 
at  every  public  table.  In  1809  he  was  pat  in 
nomination  for  congress  and  was  elected.  Par- 
ties were  nearly  equally  divided,  but  his  name 
gave  great  weight  to  th«  ticket.  In  New- 
Hampshire  the  members  of  congress  are  cho- 
sen by  general  ticket,  without  regard  to  dis- 
tricts, or  without  any  further  regard  to  them 
than  that  of  consulting  public  feeling  in  se- 
lecting candidates.  In  Congress  he  soon  be- 
came distinguished  and  was  surrounded  by  the 
New  England  delegation,  or  rather  a  greater 
part  of  them  ;  and  was  considered  as  conspicu- 
ous among  them,  if  not  at  that  time  precisely 
their  leader.  On  the  great  question  of  renew- 
the  Charter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States 
he  made  a  long  speech  full  of  well  tried  facts 
and  sound  principles.  In  any  other  but  high 


14  WEBSTER. 

party  times  his  reasonings  would  have  been 
irresistible.  The  question  was  lost,  but  when 
the  subject  came  up  again  after  the  peace  of 
1815,  the  advocates  of  the  Bank  did  but  little 
more  than  repeat  his  arguments  in  favour  of 
its  establishment. 

On  retiring  from  public  life  he  found  that 
his  pecuniary  affairs  were  deranged  and  his 
friends  in  Boston  invited  him  to  come  there, 
as  a  wider  field  for  his  talents,  and  promised 
him  business  ;  he  removed  in  1817,  and  at 
once  entered  into  full  practice,  and  shared  the 
best  of  it,  with  the  elder  luminaries  of  the  bar 
of  Suffolk.  His  practice  was  not  confined  to 
that  county,  but  he  was  called  into  Essex, 
Middlesex,  Norfolk,  and  in  fact  to  other  coun- 
ties as  far  as  he  would  go  from  home.  His 
fame  was  every  day  increasing  at  the  bar  ;  and 
he  seemed  to  have  forgotten  that  he  was  ever 
a  politician.  To  his  clients  he  was  every  thing, 
and  they  complained  of  nothing,  but  that  it 
was  difficult  from  the  press  of  those  who 
sought  him,  to  obtain  an  audience  to  speak  of 
their  cases.  Some  of  the  bar  fretted  at  his  oc- 
casional sharpness  and  overbearing  ;  and  his 
greatest  admirers  will  not  deny  that  at  times, 
he  was  petulant,  and  restive,  and  he  seemed  to 
have  forgotten,  that  he  was  in  a  different  lati- 
tude from  that  in  which  he  was  educated  ;  but 


WEBSTER.  15 

on  reflection  he  generally  made  amends  for 
any  pain  he  had  given.  There  seemed  in  his 
day  a  common  law  in  New-Hampshire,  as  well 
as  in  England,  that  every  witness  might,  by  ex- 
amining counsel,  be  put  to  the  torture  and  that 
it  was  all  fair  play.  In  Massachusetts  it  was 
not  so.  The  rights  and  feelings  of  witnesses 
were  protected  by  the  court,  sometimes  fas- 
tidiously  ;  he  knew  nothing  of  that  at  first, 
and  when  he  had  learned  it,  often  forgot  it.  la 
1823  he  was  elected  from  Boston  to  the  legis- 
lature of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts, 
but  did  not  take  an  active  part  in  any  impor- 
tant discussion,  perhaps  there  was  not  any 
ihing  which  came  up  at  that  time  to  require 
his  aid. 

In  1824,  Mr.  Gorham,  who  had  ably  and 
faithfully  represented  the  District  of  Suffolk 
in  Congress,  resigned  his  seat  in  that  body. 
A  merchant  of  talents,  and  polished  educa- 
tion, was  put  in  nomination.  Mr.  Putnam  was 
one  of  the  most  decidedly  popular  men  in  the 
district,  and  all  parties  had  made  up  their 
minds  to  send  him,  when  some  of  Mr.  Web- 
ster's friends  put  him  in  nomination  only  a  few 
days  before  the  election  ;  and  when  it  was  as- 
certained that  he  would  stand  as  a  candidate, 
there  was  a  strong  desire  evinced  among  his 
old  friends  to  support  his  election  ;  but  not 


16  WEBSTER. 

a  few  were  pledged  to  Mr.  Putnam,  who  was 
a  most  unexceptionable  candidate.  In  this 
state  of  things  caucuses  were  held,  and  at  each 
the  speakers  struggled  to  say  the  kindest 
things  of  the  two  candidates ;  and  when  they 
had  made  a  choice,  appeared  to  regret  that 
both  could  not  be  members ;  suffice  it  to 
say,  Mr.  Webster  was  chosen.  He  came 
in  at  the  next  election  unanimously,  he  was 
of  course  the  representative  of  a  city,  and  a 
people,  and  not  of  a  party.  From  the  House, 
he  was  elected  to  the  seriate  of  the  United 
States,  and  in  that  body  he  took  the  same  stand 
he  had  held  in  the  popular  branch  of  the  go- 
vernment.  He  came  to  it,  at  once,  as  he  was 
known  to  all  the  members  of  the  senate  per- 
sonally or  by  reputation.  There  is  not,  proba- 
bly, a  lawyer  in  the  United  States  of  his  age, 
who  has  argued  so  many  important  causes  as 
Mr.  Webster,  notwithstanding  his  long  politi- 
cal services. 

When  he  came  to  Boston,  he  could  not  have 
ranked  among  the  first  scholars  of  our  coun- 
try, for  there  were  many  in  his  own  cir- 
cle of  acquaintance,  before  him  in  all  the 
nicities  of  classical  learning.  He  had  not  felt 
this  before,  and  he  now  devoted  many  of  his 
leisure  hours  to  classical  learning,  not  merely 
as  an  amusement,  but  as  a  study ;  and  at  the 


WEBSTER.  17 

same  time  made  himself  master  of  the  history 
of  his  country  ;  a  branch  of  learning  in  which 
most  of  the  American  politicians  are  greatly 
deficient.  In  this  latter  course,  he  saw  minute- 
ly the  origin  of  our  institutions,  and  the  princi- 
ples on  which  they  had  flourished. 

These  acquirements  give  a  ripeness  and 
finish  to  his  speeches  on  all  national  questions 
which  they  had  not  before  ;  like  Lionardo  da 
Vinci,  he  added  to  the  magnificence  of  his  ear- 
ly designs,  all  the  gatherings  of  experience, 
and  the  improvements  of  taste.  It  is  seldom 
that  the  bold  outline  is  patiently  filled  up. 

The  situation  of  every  man  has  much  to  do 
with  his  reputation,  if  it  does  not  alter  his 
character.  If  it  be  true  that 

"  Pigmies  are  pigmies  still,  though  perch'd  on  Alps, 
And  pyramids  are  pyramids  in  vales," 

yet  when  the  latter  are  placed  on  an  eminence, 
their  morning  and  evening  shadows  are  cast  at 
greater  length,  and  the  vast  pile  is  seen  in  all 
its  magnificence  at  a  much  greater  distance. 
Comingto  the  metropolis  of  New-England,  was 
indeed  setting  himself  on  a  hill.  It  was  a  hap- 
py change,  for  he  was  made  for  that  city,  and 
that  city  for  him.  He  seems  to  have  the  same 
power  over  the  people  of  Boston,  and  indeed 
of  all  Massachusetts,  that  Pericles  had  over 
3 


18  WEBSTER. 

the  Athenians,  and  for  aught  I  know  is  likely  to 
last  as  long  ;  for  fifteen  years  it  has  been  wax- 
ing apace  without  feeling  any  wanings  of  pub- 
lic opinion.  It  may  be  that  the  measure  of  his 
fame  is  filled  up,  and  that  he  has  reached  his 
acme  ;  but  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  become 
unpopular  while  he  retains  the  powers  of  his 
mind,  and  continues  his  exertions  for  the  hon- 
our of  his  country. 

But  to  speak  more  particularly  of  his  mental 
endowments  ;  he  is  not  wanting  in  originality, 
but  has  not  so  much  of  it  as  to  lead  him  per- 
petually after  novel  creations.  His  memory 
is  strong,  and  the  stores  of  his  knowledge  are 
laid  up  in  admirable  order,  and  ready  for  use 
as  exigences  or  circumstances  may  require. 
His  early  friends  say  that  his  imagination  was 
once  of  a  high  order,  and  that  he  wrote  vigor- 
ous poetry  whenever  he  chose  ;  and  as  farther 
proof  of  the  strength  of  his  fancy  they  produce 
a  splendid  eulogy  delivered  by  him  on  the 
death  of  one  of  his  classmates  when  in  college. 
It  has  the  gorgeousness  of  youthful  genius 
about  it,  and  was  for  years  considered  the  most 
extraordinary  composition  ever  written  at 
Dartmouth  college  ;  but  if  imagination  was 
then  his  most  striking  characteristic,  it  is  not 
so  now.  The  severe  discipline  to  which  he, 
on  coming  to  the  bar,  put  it  under,  soon  de- 


WEBSTER.  19 

stroyed  the  inspiration  of  the  muse,  and  laid 
her  lifeless  at  the  feet  of  reason.  That  pow. 
er  of  the  mind,  whatever  metaphysicians  may 
call  it,  that  looks  over  the  utmost  extent  of  a 
subject  at  a  glance  ;  that  which  grasps  all  its 
near  and  remote  bearings,  and  comprehends 
its  dependencies  and  relations,  and  can  throw 
out  all  the  results  of  reasoning  upon  it  to  the 
public  in  the  smallest  compass  of  time,  is  his, 
— pre-eminently  his.  It  may  be  called  gen- 
ius, judgment,  talent — any  thing — no  matter 
what :  it  is  greatness,  mental  greatness,  ab- 
stracted from  circumstances  or  accident. 
There  are  men  who  say  that  Mr.  Webster 
has  been  over-rated — this  is  not  true  ;  some  of 
his  over- weening  friends,  have  at  times  for 
want  of  discernment,  spoken  of  his  ordinary 
efforts  at  the  bar,  and  other  places,"as  wonder- 
ful productions,  comparing  them  with  his  high- 
est efforts.  The  greatest  minds  are  sometimes 
common. place,  and  many  of  his  speeches 
should  have  passed  away  as  other  common- 
place matters  have  done.  It  is  equally  wrong 
to  look  to  his  orations  on  great  occasions  for 
the  proudest  productions  of  his  intellect. 
These  productions  are  noble  compositions, 
powerful  discussions  of  the  subject  ia  hand, 
abounding  in  deep  strength,  pertinent  remark, 
and  striking  illustrations  ;  but  they  are  not,  af- 


20  WEBSTER. 

ter  all  the  praise  which  has  been  bestowed  up- 
on them,  his  most  felicitous  labours.  He  can- 
not lash  himself  into  passion  in  the  closet ;  he 
requires  excitement  that  he  cannot  find  there  ; 
he  must  be  roused  by  some  spirit  of  emulation, 
rivalry,  or  resentment ;  he  must  be  awakened 
by  the  cry  that  the  Philistines  are  upon  him, 
before  the  strength  of  his  sevea  locks  are  felt. 

It  is  before  a  court  and  jury,  or  in  the  delibe- 
rate assembly  that  the  full  extent  of  his  pow- 
ers can  be  understood  ;  and  even  there  it  de- 
pends much  on  who  his  opponents  may  be, 
whether  he  shall  be  great  or  not. 

But  if  the  oration  at  the  landing  of  the  Pil- 
grims, is  not  his  greatest  effort,  it  was  indeed 
a  fine  one  ;  the  production  abounds  in  depth  of 
thought  and  majesty  of  language. 

The  oration  at  Bunker's  Hill  was  literally  de- 
livered to  the  world.  In  the  open  air,  exposed 
to  sun  and  winds,  stood  an  orator  ripe  with  the 
thoughts  of  manhood,  before  all  the  impres- 
sions and  the  glow  of  early  days  had  gone ; 
myriads  of  listeners  were  around  him  ;  heroes 
were  clustering  near  him,  among  them  the  re- 
presentatives of  other  hemispheres  ;  holy  men 
who  were  just  entering  eternity,  were  ready  to 
implore  a  blessing,  and  depart ;  the  bones  of 
friends,  and  enemies,  were  shaking  in  their 
graves  beneath  the  feet  of  new  and  old  gene- 


WEBSTER.  21. 

rations,  and  passing  time,  was  announcing  that 
half  a  century  had  elapsed  since  the  roar  of 
battle  had  broke  over  the  sacred  ground  ;  the 
corner  stone  of  a  time  defying  monument  was 
then  resting  at  his  feet,  and  an  hundred  thou- 
sand bosoms  in  his  sight  were  swelling  and 
heaving  with  patriotism  and  republican  pride ; 
how  sublime  the  scene  !  what  a  moment  for 
"  thoughts  that  breathe  and  words  that  burn  :" 
and  is  it  not  enough  to  say  that  all  were  sat- 
isfied ? 

His  next  oration  was  on  the  death  of  Adams 
and  Jefferson.  It  was  delivered  on  the  2d 
of  August,  1826,  in  Fanuiel  Hall,  the  cradle 
of  American  liberty.  Not  more  than  one  tenth 
of  those  who  strove  to  hear  him  could  get  ad- 
mittance. The  excitement  was  wonderful. 
Happy  is  the  orator  who  has  an  audience  that 
love  him  ;  his  glory  is  more  than  half  perfect- 
ed before  an  accent  is  heard,  or  his  lips 
move — 

I  have  seen 

The  dumb  men  throng  to  see  him,  and  the  blind 
To  hear  him  speak  :  the  matrons  flung  their  gloves, 
Ladies  and  maids  their  scarfs  and  handkerchiefs, 
Upon  him  as  he  passed  :  The  nobles  bended, 
As  to  Jove's  statue  ;  and  the  commons  made 
A  shower  and  thunder,  with  their  caps  and  shouts  : 
I  never  saw  the  like. 

CORIOLANUS. 
3*     * 


22  WEBSTER. 

His  manners  at  the  bar,  and  in  the  delibe- 
rate assembly,  are  peculiar.  He  begins  to 
state  his  points  in  a  low  voice,  and  in  a  slow, 
cool,  cautious  and  philosophical  manner  ;  he 
goes  on  hammering  out  link  by  link  his  chain 
of  argument  with  ponderous  blows,  and  while 
thus  at  labour,  you  rather  see  the  sinews  of 
the  arm,  than  the  skill  of  the  artist.  It  is  in  re- 
ply,  that  he  comes  out  in  the  majesty  of  intel- 
lectual  grandeur,  and  lavishes  about  him  the 
opulence  of  intellectual  wealth.  It  is  when  the 
darts  of  the  enemy  have  hit  him,  that  he  is  all 
might  and  soul ;  it  is  then,  that  he  showers 
down  words  of  weight  and  fire.  Hear  him, 
and  you  will  say  that  his  eloquence  is  founded 
on  no  model,  ancient  or  modern,  that  he  never 
read  the  works  of  a  master  for  instruction  ; 
all  is  his  own,  excellencies  and  defects.  His 
voice  has  an  extraordinary  compass  ;  for  he 
fills  the  largest  room  without  great  effort.  His 
emphasis  belongs  to  himself  alone  ;  it  is  found- 
ed on  no  rule — nor  can  it  be  reduced  to  any. 

Fanueil  Hall,  and  the  largest  room  of  the 
capitol,  are  within  the  power  of  his  voice,  and 
he  speaks  in  them  with  apparent  ease.  The 
style  of  his  eloquence  is  also  all  his  own ;  he 
resembles  no  American  orator  we  yet  have 
heard ;  he  does  not  imitate  in  the  least,  the 
Addisonian  eloquence  of  Alexander  Hamilton, 


WEBSTER.  23 

which  was  the  day-spring  in  a  pure  vernal 
atmosphere,  full  of  health  and  beauty  ;  nor 
does  he  labour  for  the  sweetness  of  Fisher 
Ames,  whose  heart  on  all  great  occasions, 
grew  liquid,  and  he  could  pour  it  out  UTce  water : 
nor  like  him,  could  Mr.  Webster,  by  the  ma- 
gic wand  of  the  enchantress  make  a  paradise, 
and  people  it  with  ethereal  beings  ;  no  ;  all  the 
subject  of  this  notice  did,  or  could  do,  was  to 
work  in  a  straight- forward  course,  with  mor- 
tal engines,  and  show  himself  mighty  in  earth, 
air,  and  water  ;  but  in  these  his  sway  was 
Herculean  :  He  had  all  the  elements  at  com- 
mand,  and  he  used  them  as  one  of  earth-born 
mould,  but  of  gigantic  proportions.  He  never 
strives  to  dazzle,  confuse  or  astonish ;  but 
goes  on  to  convince  and  to  conquer  by  legiti- 
mate means.  When  he  goes  out  to  battle,  it  is 
without  squire,  aid-de-carnp,  or  arrnour-bear- 
er  ;  although  hundreds  are  ready  to  take  any 
part  in  and  about  his  person.  In  his  conflict  he 
trusts  to  no  arm  but  his  own — he  rests  only  on 
the  staff  of  his  own  spear. 

I  believe  that  it  can  be  said  of  him,  that  he 
shows  none  of  that  vanity  in  debate,  which 
belonged  to  the  very  nature  of  the  great  father 
of  Roman  eloquence,  and  was  conspicuous  in 
all  his  acts  of  a  public  nature;  but  if  he  never 
said  with  him  "  Video,  patres  concsripti,  in  me 


24  WEBSTER. 

ominum  ora,  atque  occulos  esse  converses  ;"  yet 
from  his  lofty  carriage,  his  haughty  brow,  his 
swelling  veins,  and  curled  lip,  you  would  judge 
that  he  had  no  small  share  of  that  sin  "for 
which  fell  the  angels." 

Some  of  his  admirers  talk  of  his  wit  in  de- 
bate. There  is  often  a  piquancy  and  girding  re- 
tort in  his  arguments,  that  by  some  may  be  call- 
ed wit ;  but  it  is  not  the  wit  of  Sheridan  or  of 
any  professed  wit ;  nor  that  wit  which  sparkles 
out,  and  illumines  the  subject  under  discussion, 
and  seems  to  be  the  offspring  of  the  moment, 
but  is  a  matter  of  long  and  previous  delibera- 
tion, perhaps,  of  frequent  rehearsal.  Instead  of 
.  those  pyrotechnics,  of  the  war  of  words,  Web- 
ster's speeches  abound  in  the  burning  intensity 
of  that  heat  which  sheds  a  flash  of  light  around, 
such  as  we  see  proceeding  from  a  glowing  mass 
of  iron,  when  drawn  by  a  powerful  arm  across 
the  anvil.  In  the  United  States,  there  have 
been,  and  there  now  are,  men  of  some  one,  or 
more  qualifications  superior  to  any  single  trait 
of  Mr.  Webster's  mind.  Some  have  more 
learning,  others  more  wit,  some  have  a  sweet- 
er voice,  others  have  a  more  refined  taste  ;  and 
not  a  few  of  more  imagination  ;  but  in  the 
combination  of  all  these  powers,  he  has  no 
equal.  He  seizes  his  subject,  turns  it  to  the 
light,  and  however  difficult,  soon  makes  it  fa- 


WEBSTER.  25 

miliar,  however  intricate,  plain,  and  with  a 
sort  of  supernatural  power,  he  possesses  his 
hearers,  and  controls  their  opinions.  His 
friends  yield  at  once  with  a  delighted  willing- 
ness, and  his  opponents  give  up  after  a  few  in- 
effectual struggles  ;  even  those  who  talk  on 
against  him,  show  that  their  tones  are  altered, 
and  that  they  are  conscious  of  the  victory  he 
has  achieved  over  them,  and  the  thraldom  in 
which  they  are  placed.  The  "  reluclantes  dro- 
cones,"  after  he  has  brushed  the  swarm  of  flies 
away,  soon  become  quiet  in  his  grasp. 

There  are  many,  and  those  too  of  no  little 
intelligence,  who  think  and  avow  their  opin- 
ions, that  the  present  race  of  politicians  are  in- 
ferior to  that  which  has  just  passed  away ; 
and  to  account  for  their  opinion,  they  say  it  re- 
quires less  of  talent,  to  administer  a  govern. 
merit,  than  to  make  a  constitution,  and  less  en- 
ergy to  cultivate  peace,  than  to  fight  out  a  re- 
volutionary war.  We  are  not  converts  to  this 
doctrine.  To  equipoise  the  general  govern- 
ment with  state  rights,  to  keep  all  safe  on  the 
waves  of  party  violence,  to  keep  the  great 
states  from  infringing  on  the  rights  of  the 
small,  and  to  take  care  that  no  state  should  op- 
press its  own  citizens,  is  quite  as  hard  a  task, 
and  requires  as  much  mind,  prudence,  labor, 
and  calculation,  as  did  the  great  work  of  the 


26  WEBSTER. 

41 

preceding  generation,  that  of  establishing  na- 
tional independence,  and  agreeing  on  a  form 
of  popular  government. 

Mr.  Webster  has  every  advantage  for  intel- 
lectual discipline,  having  been  born  among  the 
yeomanry  of  New-Hampshire,  he  became  ear- 
ly acquainted  with  their  capacities,  feelings 
and  habits,  and  from  his  practice  as  a  law- 
yer among  them,  at  the  commencement  of 
his  professional  career,  he  became  still  more 
accurately  acquainted  with  their  whole  char- 
acter. There  is  no  profession,  equal  to  that 
of  the  law,  to  teach  one  a  knowledge  of  human 
nature  ;  entering  on  a  political  course,  his 
views  were  expanded  and  he  saw  men  playing 
higher  games  with  pretty  much  the  same  mo- 
tives. One  of  the  evils  attending  great  men  in 
England,  and  other  aristocratic  governments 
is,  that  they  have  but  little  acquaintance  with 
the  middling  classes  in  society,  and  many  of 
them  from  being  educated  privately,  have  nev- 
er  tried  their  corporeal  and  mental  strength 
with  beings  of  their  own  age. 

When  mind  contends  with  mind,  without  any 
of  the  distinctions  of  society  in  a  public  school, 
the  powers  of  each  are  very  accurately  mea- 
sured— and  the  youth  grows  up  to  manhood 
with  a  proper  knowledge  of  his  own  capacity. 
These  school  exercises  are  efficacious  in  ta- 


WEBSTER.  27 

king  out  of  the  mind  that  vanity,  and  conceit, 
that  partial  friends  are  apt  to  infuse  into  for- 
ward  boys.  The  college  in  which  Mr.  Webster 
was  educated  is  most  favourable  to  this  mode 
of  testing  minds.  The  scholars  are  all  on  an 
equality  the  moment  they  enter  the  institution. 
All  have  their  way  to  make  in  the  world — and 
the  moment  they  have  graduated,  fly  off  to  dis- 
tant places  and  begin  their  labors  as  those 
well  aware  of  what  they  have  to  do. 

In  every  place  where  Mr.  Webster  has  been 
called  to  act,  he  has  been  prominent,  in  courts 
of  justice  and  in  halls  of  Legislation.  Before 
he  was  thirty  years  of  age,  he  stood  unequal- 
led in  congress  as  a  debater,  and  even  then,  his 
claims  were  acknowledged  by  a  most  powerful, 
but  generous  political  opponent,  Mr.  Lowndes. 
In  the  convention  for  altering  and  amending 
the  constitution  of  Massachusetts,  the  Pa- 
triarch of  that  numerous  and  highly  intel- 
lectual body,  John  Adams,  stated  openly,  that 
Mr.  Webster,  was  the  first  man  among  them  ; 
and  indeed,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  he 
had  never  met  in  his  long  acquaintance  with 
statesmen,  a  superior  mind,  viewing  him  in 
every  respect. 

His  enemies  say  that  he  is  ambitious  ;  this 
will  not  be  denied  by  his  friends  ;  but  can 
there  be  such  a  thing  as  a  statesman,  without 


28  WEBSTER. 

ambition  ?  Even  the  martyr's  bosom  is  not  free 
from  ambition  ;  he  looks  to  the  crown  of  glory 
in  another  world.  That  Mr.  Webster  has  fail- 
ings, no  one  will  deny ;  for  who  is  without 
them?  but  they  are  not  those  which  impair 
his  mind,  or  injure  his  political  usefulness. 
Some  may  have  cau^e  to  complain  of  his  dis- 
tance or  coldness  ;  others  of  his  forgetfulness 
or  want  of  generosity  in  acknowledging  their 
merits.  The  nil  admirari  is  frequently  an  in- 
gredient in  a  statesman's  creed,  but  after  all, 
justice  in  making  out  her  balance  sheet,  has  to 
allow  for  the  jealousies  of  the  mediocre  and 
the  little,  as  well  as  for  the  coldness  of  the 
great.  The  writer  of  this  article  is  no  foliow- 
er,  vassal,  or  even  lover  of  Mr.  Webster  ;  but 
he  thinks  him  a  man  of  whom  his  country 
should  be  proud,  and  one  that  every  honest 
politician  should  honor  and  protect ;  for  if  he 
sometimes  acts  with  a  party,  his  general  sen- 
timents are  truly  national  and  noble. 

In  every  country  the  character  of  a  public 
man  is  common  property,  and  in  most  coun- 
tries they  speak  of  them  with  great  freedom, 
and  often  with  much  profligate  severity.  Mr. 
Webster,  however,  has  suffered  more  from 
injudicious  and  indiscriminating  admirers  than 
from  the  bitterest  enemies  he  has  ever  had. 
Those  nauseous  flatterers  and  cringing  toad- 


WEBSTER.  29 

eaters  who  exist  always  near  a  great  man,  and 
who  are  ready  to  lie,  fume  and  cry  aloud  in 
his  praise,  disgust  honest  admiration  and  of- 
fend common  sense  ;  no  man  has  suffered  more 
from  this  pittiful  race  than  Mr.  Webster.  They 
are  not  content  with  showing  the  size  of  the 
man  from  the  impressions  of  his  footstep  ;  nor 
inferring  his  strength  from  his  deeds  of  prow- 
ess  ;  but  they  must  deal  in  the  miraculous  : 
Such  a  man  as  Mr.  Webster  requires  no 
such  abettors  or  false  aids  ;  he  is  above  them. 
On  the  basis  of  his  own  merits  he  may  rest 
his  fame  ;  it  will  support  through  all  the  ages 
of  this  republic  a  collossal  figure  for  the  pride 
of  the  nation,  and  the  delight  of  those  who  love 
to  contemplate  the  finest  efforts  of  human 
genius. 


LETTER.  II. 

Washington, ,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, 

THE  Vice  President,  MR.  CALHOUN,  now 
occupies  a  large  space  in  the  eye  of  the  na- 
tion. He  is,  indeed,  a  very  considerable  man 
in  the  political  world,  and  no  ordinary  one  as 
a  statesman  or  an  orator.  He  is  now  about 
forty-eight  years  old,  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  bred  in  South  Carolina.  He  received  his 
education  at  Yale  College,  and  was  a  favour- 
ite of  that  great  instructor,  Dr.  Dwight,  then 
president  of  that  Institution.  Soon  after  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  was  sent  to  Con- 
gress, and  at  once  took  a  leading  part  in  the 
business  and  debates,  of  that  period.  From  the 
House  of  Representatives  he  was  made  Sec- 
retary of  War.  In  this  office  he  made  all  his 
calculations  on  a  broad,  bold  scale  ;  he  reor- 
ganized the  army  and  got  rid  of  no  small  share 
of  the  blustering  ignorance  which  is  always 
found  among  the  fair  character  and  talents  of 
such  bodies  after  a  war  of  some  continuance. 
His  plan  of  fortification  for  the  most  expo- 
sed  parts  of  the  sea-board  and  frontiers  was  a 
bold  and  magnificent  one,  worthy  of  the  war 


CALHOUN.  3; 

department  and  of  a  great  people.  The  par- 
simonious were  alarmed  at  the  extent  of  his 
expenditures,  and  the  very  prudent  thought 
him  lavish  of  the  public  monies  ;  still  the  wise 
and  calculating  supported  him  from  a  belief 
in  the  utility  of  his  measures.  He  hated  that 
parsimony  which  is  always  in  the  end  the 
worst  of  prodigalities.  Such  was  the  state  of 
the  army  when  he  came  into  office  that  it  re- 
quired  a  bold  hand  like  his  to  reform  it.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  but  great  injustice  was  done 
to  individuals  in  razeeing,  yet,  on  the  whole, 
the  public  were  benefitted  by  the  reform. 

From  the  head  of  the  war  department,  Mr. 
Calhoun  was  elevated  to  the  Vice  Presidency, 
and  served  one  term  with  Mr.  Adams,  and  is 
now  on  his  second,  with  General  Jackson. 

The  vice  Presidency  has  not  been  a  place 
for  an  ambitious  man  heretofore.  He  was 
not  until  the  elevation  of  General  Jackson 
considered  a  member  of  the  cabinet,  and  had 
but  little  more  to  do  than  to  preside  in  the 
Senate.  This  requires  but  little  talent.  Mr. 
Calhoun  was  a  candidate  for  the  presidency, 
but  at  length  sent  in  his  declinature  in  favor  of 
general  Jackson.  This  gave  a  shock  to  his 
popularity,  for  he  had  then  enlisted  in  his 
cause  some  of  the  first  spirits  in  the  country. 
These  were  all  at  once  afloat  and  some  con- 
fusion ensued. 


32  CALHOUN. 

Mr.  Calhoun  is  now  prominently  before  the 
public.  He  has  high  claims  and  many  friends  ; 
but  he,  nor  any  one  else  can  divine  his  fate. 
The  changing  winds  are  not  more  uncertain 
than  popular  favour  ;  it  bloweth  where  it  listeth, 
and  no  one  comprehendeth  it. 

Mr.  Calhoun  is  a  man  of  great  readiness, 
sagacity  and  daring.  He  comes  quickly  to  a 
point,  and  acts  fearlessly  upon  what  he  thinks 
is  well  for  him  to  do.  In  conversation  Mr. 
Calhoun  is  fluent,  rapid  and  ingenuous,  and 
the  productions  of  his  pen  are  of  the  same 
stamp.  He  stops  for  none  of  the  graces  of 
finishing.  His  eloquence  is  not  of  a  high 
grade  if  manner  and  voice  make  up  any  por- 
tion of  eloquence.  His  action  is  vehement 
and  his  words  flow  in  torrents.  When  Secre- 
tary at  war  he  brought  forward  some  of  the 
young  men  of  talents  he  had  known  in  college 
or  as  fellow  students  at  law,  and  every  selec- 
tion justified  his  knowledge  of  character,  and 
his  just  appreciation  of  ability  and  tact  for  bu- 
siness. He  is  ambitious  ;  but  who  would  moil 
and  toil  for  many  years  for  place  and  power 
if  he  were  not  ambitious  ?  The  thorny  pinna- 
cle of  power  must  be  reached  by  long  and 
painful  labour  and  countless  privations,  anx- 
ious days  and  sleepless  nights  belong  to  him 
who  seeks  distinctions  in  any  path  of  life. 


LETTER  III. 


Washington,  ,   1830. 

DEAR  SIR, 

MR.  EVERETT  you  have  seen,  and 
therefore  I  need  not  describe  his  person  to 
you ;  when  in  Europe  he  was,  as  you  know, 
much  caressed  as  a  learned  man  ;  his  course 
has  been  singular  and  prominent.  While  at 
Harvard  University  as  a  student  he  was  dis- 
tinguished, though  very  young ;  on  leaving 
college  he  studied  divinity  and  was  ordained 
and  settled  a  youthful  prodigy.  In  elegant 
literature  he  had  no  equal  of  his  age  and  the 
world  was  delighted  with  his  pulpit  eloquence  ; 
whenever  he  preached  crowds  of  the  most  ac- 
complished of  both  sexes  assembled  to  hear  his 
splendid  sermons  ;  these  discourses  if  they  had 
not  so  much  of  the  holy  unction  in  them  as  in 
some  sermons  of  graver  men,  still  there  was  a 
purity  of  taste  and  a  sweet  solemnity  that 
made  him  delightful  to  hearers  of  all  creeds.  A 
few  years  after  his  ordination  he  was  elected 
to  a  professorship  in  Harvard  University. 
This  office  he  accepted  on  condition  of  being 
allowed  to  visit  Europe  and  reside  a  year  or 


34  EVERETT. 

two  in  Germany.  He  set  out  on  this  tour  with 
all  the  ardour  of  a  young  man  panting  for 
knowledge  and  ambitious  of  surpassing  all,  in 
his  accomplishments.  In  his  absence  he  visit- 
ed Rome,  France,  and  England,  and  tarried 
for  some  time  at  Gottengen,  and  became  ena- 
moured with  German  literature.  He  extend- 
ed his  travels  to  Greece,  and  there  drank  in- 
spiration among  the  relics  of  ancient  taste  and 
greatness.  He  examined  the  Parthenon  in  its 
ruins  with  great  minuteness,  as  well  as  all 
other  things  worthy  of  notice.'  He  returned 
to  his  Alrna  Mater  with  a  mind  filled  with 
"  the  spoils  of  time,"  and  a  memory  stored 
with  the  humanities,  the  great  object  of  his 
travels,  and  commenced  his  labours  as  a  pro- 
fessor, and  at  once  became  the  pride  of  the 
University  and  the  delight  of  his  pupils. 

He  did  not  confine  himself  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  college  classes,  but  gave  a  splendid 
course  of  lectures  on  Architecture,  which 
was  numerously  attended  by  the  most  enlight- 
ened persons  of  both  sexes  in  the  metropolis 
of  New-England.  At  this  time  he  was  consid- 
ered the  Editor  of  the  North  American  Re- 
view, which  was  well  conducted,  and  took  the 
lead  in  the  periodicals  of  the  country.  His 
portions  of  the  work  are  distinguished  for  taste, 
talent  and  learning ;  there  is  a  variety  and 


EVERETT.  35 

raciness  about  his  productions  that  mark  one 
born  and  bred  among  the  Muses  ;  In  fact  he 
was  a  scholar  by  profession,  and  wore  the  lau- 
rel among  all  the  lettered  and  polite  as  an  eve- 
ry day  ornament.  In  an  evil  hour  for  American 
literature  the  politicians  of  his  District  turned 
their  eyes  upon  him  as  member  of  Congress, 
and  he  left  the  lecture  room,  perhaps  never  to 
return.  In  Congress  he  is  respected  for  his 
learning,  and  talents.  When  he  rises  all  are 
anxious  to  catch  every  word  he  has  to  say — 
not  that  his  eloquence  there,  is  as  good  as  it  was 
in  the  pulpit,  or  the  lecture-room,  but  that  the 
information  he  gives  may  be  relied  on,  for  he 
has  day  and  date,  chapter  and  page,  for  every 
thing  he  says,  and  the  purity  of  his  language 
forms  a  great  contrast  to  that  of  many  of  those 
around  him.  He  has  too  much  refinement  for 
the  rough  and  tumble  of  Congress  skirmishing. 
In  this  body  he  has  frequently  been  selected 
as  Chairman  of  committees  to  make  reports, 
on  important  subjects,  and  these  are  generally 
admired  for  their  clearness  of  reasoning  and 
appropriateness  of  style ;  these  reports  are  said 
to  prove  that  he  is  greater  in  the  closet  than 
on  the  floor  of  the  House ;  but  he  is  great 
every  where. 

Such  men  are  wanted  in  the  American  Con- 
gress,  for  loving  the  country  so  much  as  I  do, 


36  %     EVERETT. 

I  am  constrained  to  confess  that  there  is  no 
little  ignorance  in  the  National  assembly,  and 
that  learning  does  not  always  receive  its  due 
honour.  Mr.  Everett's  eloquence  is  charac- 
terized by  taste,  sweetness,  harmony,  delicacy 
and  correctness.  It  has  the  Ciceronian  flow, 
ease  and  purity,  and  all  the  great  Roman's  ac- 
curacy and  marks  of  scholarship.  He  is 
said  to  be  ambitious,  and  to  dearly  love  polit- 
ical distinctions.  Of  this,  it  is  probable,  he  will 
soon  get  cured  in  the  shiftings  and  chang- 
ings  of  party,  and  in  the  fulness  of  his  genius, 
return  from  the  bustle  of  the  Hall  of  Legis- 
tion  to  the  groves  of  the  Academy  he  desert- 
ed. If  it  should  so  happen,  it  will  be  well ;  for 
learning  should  have  more  knowledge  of  the 
world  than  it  generally  has,  and  the  world 
should  have  more  learning  than  it  is  disposed 
to  honour  and  cherish. 


LETTER  XV. 


Washington,  • ,  1830, 

DEAR  SIR, 

EDWARD  LIVINGSTON,  of  the  Senate, 
is  a  hale,  vigorous  man,  past  the  grand  cli- 
macteric. He  has  been  active  in  profes- 
sional and  political  pursuits  for  more  than 
forty  years.  He  was  born  in  the  state  of 
New- York,  and  by  brilliant  talents,  and  fa- 
mily connexions,  was  early  brought  into  pub- 
lic notice.  As  a  lawyer  he  was  conspicuous 
and  took  a  high  stand,  at  a  very  early 
age,  at  the  bar.  In  1793  he  was  in  Con- 
gress, and  took  an  active  part  on  the  questions 
which  arose  upon  Jay's  Treaty.  He  was,  of 
course,  in  the  minority  ;  which  is  the  best 
school  for  a  young,  aspiring  politician.  He 
can  discuss  measures  without  being  responsi- 
ble for  them,  and  learns  the  science  of  attack 
and  defence  without  danger  of  injuring  his 
reputation.  After  being  in  Congress  for  some 
years,  he  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  of 
New-York ;  an  office  then  next,  in  point  of 
emolument,  to  that  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  said  that  he  was  a  very 


38  LIVINGSTON. 

effective,  energetic  executive  officer ;  and 
"  that  there  never  was  a  better  judicial  officer 
on  the  bench  than  Edward  Livingston."  He 
was  succeeded  by  De  Witt  Clinton. 

When  the  United  States  extended  their 
sovereignty  over  Louisiana  by  purchase,  Mr. 
Livingston  went  to  settle  in  New-Orleans. 
Here  he  was  at  once  the  first  lawyer  of  that 
country,  and  was  employed  in  all  the  impor- 
tant cases.  Being  master  of  the  French  and 
Spanish  languages,  and  well  read  in  the  civil 
law,  he  was  called  upon  to  compile  their  code  ; 
which  was  so  ably  done  that  his  compilation 
is  considered  the  law  of  the  land  in  all  the 
courts.  Since  that  period  he  has  been  em- 
ployed by  that  state  to  form  a  penal  code  of 
laws,  a  code  of  procedure  and  of  state  pri- 
son discipline.  All  this  he  has  furnished  ; 
and  Congress  are  about  to  take  a  part  of  it  for 
the  District  of  Columbia.  In  preparing  this 
he  has  spared  no  labor,  and  suffered  no  obsta- 
cle to  deter  him  for  a  moment.  A  very  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  manuscript  of  his  code 
was  burnt  in  the  city  of  New- York,  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  at  seven  next 
morning  he  sat  down  to  begin  his  labors  upon 
it  anew.  What  cannot  be  accomplished  by 
such  perseverance  ?  In  making  up  these  codes 
he  has  ransacked  the  annals  of  all  ages  and 


LIVINGSTON.  39 

nations,  and  read  every  treatise  on  crime  and 
punishment  that  the  lettered  world  affords  : 
and  in  addition  to  this,  held  a  correspondence 
with  all  the  philanthropists  of  the  age  :  nothing 
has  escaped  him. 

"  To  him  familiar  every  legal  dome, 

The  Courts  of  Athens,  and  the  Halls  of  Rome." 

Those  who  have  read  these  codes,  do  not 
hesitate  to  say,  that  for  comprehension  and 
clearness,  exactness  in  defining  crime,  for  dis- 
tinctness and  simplicity  in  making  out  the 
modes  of  proceeding  to  ascertain  the  guilt  or 
innocence  of  a  prisoner,  that  his  surpasses  all 
other  codes  that  can  be  found.  And  another 
excellence  of  it  is,  that  it  leaves  as  little  for 
the  discretion  of  the  judge  as  possible. 

Although  Mr.  Livingston's  life  has  been  a 
busy  one,  and  he  has  done  much  at  the  bar 
and  in  Congress,  and  out  of  these  walks  of 
life  he  has  contended  with  principalities  and 
powers  in  more  than  a  ten  years  warfare, 
and  come  off  with  success  ;  still  he  looks  |to 
his  code  for  permanent  fame.  Besides  its 
learning  and  wisdom,  there  is  a  living  and 
immortal  principle  in  it,  that  will  bless  it  for 
ever.  It  is  a  benevolent  code.  His  justice 
is  not  a  confused,  sanguinary  Deity,  who  lifts 
her  devouring  sword  at  every  offence  ;  but 


40  LIVINGSTON. 

one  who  punishes  in  mercy,  making  discrimi- 
nations in  the  nature  of  punishments  as  she 
discovers  differences  in  the  nature  of  crimes. 
If  Mr.  Livingston  does  not,  in  his  lifetime,  see 
it  adopted  entire,  by  any  state  or  country,  he 
will  find  that  its  spirit  will  silently  enter  the 
penal  codes  of  all  civilized  nations,  and  sweet- 
en the  bitter  fountains  of  penal  vengeance. 

Mr.  Livingston  is  one  of  the  most  learned 
men  of  his  age  ;  for  he  has  been  assiduous  in 
acquiring  knowledge,  and  has  lost  none  of  his 
acquisitions  by  ill  health  or  decay  of  mental 
powers.  If  his  style  is  less  copious  than  it 
was  in  his  earlier  days,  it  has  lost  nothing  of 
its  vigour  or  spirit  :  even  his  imagination  has 
all  the  creative  powers  it  had  when  he  first 
appeared  before  the  public,  as  his  last  speech 
in  the  Senate,  on  Mr.  Foot's  resolutions,  will 
fully  show. 


LETTER  V. 


Washington,  Jan.  1830. 
DKAR  SIR, 

Mr.  Wirt  you  have  heard  of  as  the  Author 
of  the  British  spy  and  several  other  works 
which  have  been  read  and  admired  in  this 
Country  and  in  Europe.  He  is  now  about  sixty 
years  of  age,  a  stout,  fair,  good  looking  man. 
He  has  been  for  many  years  a  laborious  law- 
yer,  and  for  several  years  past  Attorney  Gen- 
eral  of  the  United  States,  which  office  he  haa 
filled  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  Nation. 
His  manners  are  bland  and  courteous,  partic- 
ularly, to  those  who  seek  him,  tinged  with  a 
little  of  that  Virginian  trait — self- considera- 
tion, which  gives  a  dignity  to  a  public  man 
when  it  does  not  degenerate  into  the  affecta- 
tion of  high  bred  fashion  without  many  early 
advantages.  Mr.  Wirt,  in  the  midst  of  the  busi- 
ness of  an  arduous  profession,  has  made  himself 
a  fine  classical  scholar.  His  imagination  is 
strong  and  refined.  He  sees  every  subject  in 
its  true  light  and  paints  it  with  a  master's  touch; 
some  of  his  descriptions  glow  with  all  the  co- 
lours of  fancy  and  are  yet  most  admirably  true 
5 


42  WIRT. 

to  nature.  Many  of  his  intellectual  portraits 
are  of  the  first  order  of  genius,  and  some  of  his 
narratives  are  wrought  up  to  a  dramatic  affect. 
His  often  supposed  that  one  so  imaginative 
could  not  have  a  logical  mind.  This  is  an 
error  :  No  one  would  deny  to  Shakespeare  or 
Milton  a  good  share  of  logical  power,  yet 
they  "  exhausted  worlds  and  then  imagined 
new."  Strip  the  arguments  of  Mr.  Wirt  uf  all 
their  beautiful  drapery,  and  tear  away  all  the 
clusters  of  diamonds  that  sparkle  around  them, 
you  will  find  as  sound  reasoning  as  in  the  dry 
speeches  of  a  professed  logician,  who  from  an 
iron  throat  and  hide-bound  brain,  give  his  hear- 
ers  a  string  of  tasteless  sylogysms.  By  many 
Mr.  Wirt  is  held  up  as  the  first  orator  in  the 
United  States,  and  no  one  will  venture  to  say 
that  he  is  not  among  the  first.  His  fame  had 
reached  its  acme  before  he  was  made  Attorney 
General ;  there  is  nothing  in  the  duties  of  that 
office,  in  quiet  times,  to  increase  a  man's  know- 
ledge or  his  fame.  Most  of  the  business  of 
the  United  States  is  done  by  the  district  attor- 
nies,  who  are  generally  men  of  talents  and  do 
their  work  so  well,  that  but  little  of  it  goes  to 
Washington,  for  the  attorney  general  to  at- 
tend to.  Mr.  Wirt  is  held  in  high  estimation  by 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  bar  of  ttiat  courrat 
Washington.  In  Virginia  and  in  Maryland  Mr. 


WIRT.  43 

Wirt  was  familiarly  known  as  an  advocate ;  but 
the  good  people  of  the  East  had  never  heard 
him  in  a  cause  until  last  year.  In  an  equity 
cause  of  importance  involving  reputation  and 
large  sums  of  money,  he  made  his  appearance 
in  Boston.  No  great  actor  that  ever  crossed 
the  Atlantic  was  more  talked  of  before  his  arri- 
val than  Mr.  Wirt.  The  learned,  the  Thebana 
of  both  sexes  assembled  to  hear  his  argument, 
but  with  the  most  kindly  disposition  imgina- 
ble.  He  was  pitted  against  their  Champion, 
and  the  interest  was  wound  up  to  a  high  pitch. 
The  race  was  as  well  contested  as  that  great 
one  between  Henry  and  Eclipse  ;  and  like  that 
won  by  half  a  neck.  In  other  words  it  was 
thought  a  fair  match  ;  bone  and  muscle  con- 
tended  with  blood  and  spirit.  Mr.  Wirt  lost  his 
cause  but  came  off  with  the  affectionate  res- 
pect of  the  people,  even  of  his  opponents. 
These  interchanges  of  civilities  among  Eas- 
tern and  Southern  men,  united  with  a  display 
of  the  powers  of  each  have  a  good  effect  in 
removing  prejudices  and  establishing  friend- 
ships among  the  people  of  different  sections  of 
of  the  country. 

~ 

Look  into  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  almost  any  day  of  its  session,  and 
you  will  perceive  a  small  man  with  a  solemn 


44  JONES. 

countenance,  a  slow,  low  voice,  with  a  head 
covered  with  thick  hair  growing  rapidly  grey, 
and  with  eyes  fixed  upon  his  papers,  talking 
to  the  court  as  if  they  were  statues,  but  in  a 
strain  of  most  powerful  reasoning  :  This  is 
General  Walter  Jones,  one  of  the  first  law- 
yers in  the  United  States.  He  was  educa- 
ted at  William  and  Mary  College,  is  a  good 
classical  scholar,  and  one  of  the  best  meta- 
physicians of  the  country.  He  is  unlike  the 
orators  of  the  south  ;  there  is  no  dash  of  elo- 
quence in  his  speeches,  but  a  neat,  elegant 
and  appropriate  choice  of  words  is  found  in 
every  remark  that  falls  from  him.  Those  who 
know  him  speak  well  of  him  as  a  gentleman  ; 
but  it  is  only  as  a  public  man  that  I  know 
him.  He  resides  in  the  city  of  Washington 
and  is  engaged  in  all  the  important  causes^that 
originate  there,  and  in  many  from  abroad. 
When  once  engaged  he  touches  every  point 
in  a  subject  before  he  sits  down  ;  and  he  is 
sometimes  tedious  from  the  great  length  and 
minuteness  of  his  arguments,  but  in  making 
an  analysis  of  them,  when  he  has  finished 
you  find  that  they  have  been  as  close  and 
particular  as  the  subject  would  admit  of,  and 
the  reviewer  would  meet  with  no  small  diffi- 
culty in  suggesting  any  alterations  for  the 
better.  The  Supreme  court  have  a  profound 


JONES.  45 

respect  for  General  Jones  and  never  lose  a 
word  of  his  argument  however  long  he  may 
be  in  a  cause.  He  meets  the  arguments  of 
his  opponents  with  more  ingenuity,  if  possible, 
than  he  shows  in  makng  his  own  ;  he  seizes  the 
weak  points  with  acuteness  and  turns  them  to 
his  advantage  with  great  adroitness,  but  with- 
out sneer  or  sarcasm.  In  the  circuit  court  of 
the  District  of  Columbia  he  is  engaged  in  all 
the  trials,  and  is  as  good  a  jury  lawyer  as  any 
man  at  the  bar.  There  are  times,  when 
warmed  with  his  cause  before  a  jury,  that  he 
is  thought  to  be  eloquent ;  certainly  he  is  very 
impressive  and  successful.  His  is  a  species 
of  eloquence,  and  that  of  the  very  best  kind  to 
an  enlightened  jury  ;  and  the  manner  of  sum- 
rnoninga  jury  in  the  District,  secures  the  best 
of  the  citizens  for  the  pannel.  In  the  street 
and  in  the  court  room,  Jones  seems  to  be  in  a 
constant  state  of  abstraction,  a  sort  of  disease 
of  the  mind.  This  is  adduced  by  his  city 
friends  as  a  wonderful  proof  of  mental  labour. 
It  may  be  so  in  his  case  ;  but  abstraction  of 
mind,  and  absence  of  mind,  are  frequently  ta- 
ken for  the  same  thing ;  they  are  not  so  : 
the  former  is  the  power  of  concentrating 
thoughts  on  one  subject,  and  calling  them  in, 
as  it  were,  from  all  their  wanderings,  to  in- 
crease their  force  in  its  consideration  ;  while 
5' 


46  JONES. 

absence  is  an  unconsciousness  of  any  thought, 
and  may  belong  to  one  grade  of  intellect  as 
well  as  to  another.  There  are  no  uniform 
symptoms  of  mental  greatness  ;  it  shows  itself, 
when  it  exists,  under  all  guises  and  in  various 
modes  ;  but  under  any,  it  can  never  be  entire- 
ly concealed.  How  unlike  aach  other  are 
these  distinguished  lawyers  !  as  unlike  as  Ci- 
cero and  Sallust.  All  hearers  like  both  ;  but 
each  has  his  devoted  admirers. 


LETTER   VI. 


Washington  Jan.  1830 
DEAR  SIB, 

I  have  often  seen  that  most  singular  man 
you  enquire  after  ;  and  often  heard  him  speak. 
Many  of  the  sketches  of  his  person  have  been 
more  accurate  than  those  given  of  his  mind.  It 
must  be  confessed  that  his  person  and  dress 
are  so  unique  that  a  just  representation  of 
them  would,  to  those  unacquainted  with  Mr. 
Randolph,  seem  a  caricature.  He  is  about 
six  feet  in  height,  perhaps  his  narrow  chest 
and  long  legs  make  him  appear  a  little  taller 
than  he  is.  His  head  is  small,  his  shoulders 
high,  and  all  parts  of  his  physiognomy,  except 
his  eye,  altogether  unintellectual.  He  is  beard- 
less,  or  nearly  so,  and  his  muscles  and  his 
skin  about  his  face  shrivelled,  although  he  is 
not  more  than  fifty-six  years  of  age.  Notwith- 
standing his  height,  his  frame  is  so  slender  that 
bis  weight  is  not  more  than  one  hundred  and 
thirty  pounds.  His  long  legs  support  a  shcr/t 
body  that  is  notmorelhana  talon  in  the  wa.iM" 
His  arms  are  very  long  and  small  and  his  fin- 


48  RANDOLPH. 

gers  bird-claw-like,  and  in  debate  he  makes 
them  very  expressive.  His  hair  is  dark,  thin 
and  lank,  and  lies  close  to  his  head.  His  move- 
ments are  rapid  and  awkward.  His  voice 
is  shrill  and  high,  and  perfectly  soprano  :  lat- 
terly his  voice  has  lost  most  of  its  power  ;  his 
throat  seems  to  be  dry  and  husky.  This  is 
the  effect  of  disease,  for  he  has  long  been  an 
invalid,  the  fine  piercing  and  fife-like  notes  of 
his  voice  are  nearly  extinct.  So  much  for  his 
person.  His  mind  is  still  more  singular  than 
his  person.  His  perceptions  are,  I  speak  of 
him  as  he  has  been,  quick  and  his  impressions 
strong  ;  but  it  is  in  the  strength  and  elevation 
of  his  imagination  that  he  is  above  mast  men. 
His  judgment,  from  every  evidence  I  have 
ever  seen  or  heard,  is  either  feeble  or  never 
consulted  in  his  acts  or  speeches.  His  mem- 
ory is  good,  often  minutely  accurate  ;  but  it  is 
now  somewhat  impaired.  His  attainments 
are  considerable,  rather  miscellaneous  than 
political  or  professional.  His  knowledge  of 
the  English  language  is  critical  and  extensive, 
and  he  is  quite  fastidious  in  his  choice  of 
words  ;  and  one  of  his  best  things  about  him 
is  that  he  keeps  a  constant  vigil  over  the  good 
old  English,  his  mother  tongue.  His  acquain- 
tance with  English  history  is  minute  ;  and  it 
may  be  said  of  him  that  he  is  well  read  in  £en- 


RANDOLPH.  49, 

eral  history  ;  but  saving  and  excepting  the  an- 
nals  of  his  own  state  he  knows  not  much  of 
American  history.  His  classical  knowledge 
has  been  overrated.  In  the  common  latin 
classics  he  is  quite  at  home,  and  quotes  with 
great  readiness,  but  his  acquaintance  with 
those  less  read  in  this  country  must  be  limit- 
ed, for  in  his  passion  for  display  he  never 
mentions  them. 

Mr.  Randolph  has  been  in  congress  most  of 
the  time  since  he  was  eligible  from  constitu- 
tional age,  and  at  all  times  has  been  conspicu- 
ous as  a  declaimer,  but  never  has  shown  the 
slightest  tact  for  business.  I  believe  the  Jour, 
nals  of  congress  do  notshow  that  he  ever  made 
a  report  in  all  this  length  of  time  ;  and  no  one 
recollects  of  his  ever  having  drawn  a  bill. 
He  has  nothing  more  to  do  with  the  ordinary 
proceedings  of  congress  than  the  last  comet 
that  appeared  in  our  solar  system  had  in  reg- 
ulating the  motions  of  the  planets. 

The  only  congressional  business  he  ever  set 
seriously  about,  was  the  impeachment  of  judge 
Chase,  and  in  this  he  failed.  He  made  a  splen- 
did declamation  on  this  subject,  mostly  unsup. 
ported  by  the  facts  in  the  case ;  he  laboured 
hard  to  demolish  the  judge  but  did  not  suc- 
ceed ;  the  good  sense  of  the  Senate  saved  the 


50  RANDOLPH. 

enroachments  on  the  judiciary.  Randolph 
came  out  of  the  contest  without  a  single  laurel. 

He  has  notwithstanding  his  pretentions  to 
consistency  been  a  politician  that  no  party 
could  for  a  moment,  or  but  for  a  moment  trust. 
He  disliked  Washington,  and  violently  op- 
posed John  Adams,  and  was  disappointed  in 
Jefferson,  as  from  him  he  expected  much, 
but  the  philosopher  could  not,  or  certainly 
did  not  trust  him.  He  openly  quarrelled  with 
Madison  and  never  was  cordial  with  Munroe. 
He  raved  like  a  madman  against  John  Q.  Ad- 
ams,  and  said  and  did  every  thing  in  his  power 
to  injure  his  administration  ;  and  it  is  well 
known  that  he  supported  Jackson  from  his 
dislike  to  Adams,  for  he  did  not  stop  in  Wash- 
ington to  witness  the  inauguration,  but  hurried 
off  to  Virginia,  thinking  he  had  done  enough 
for  the  hero. 

By  profession  Mr.  Randolph  is  a  democrat, 
by  every  habit  an  aristocrat,  for  he  is  proud  as 
Lucifer,  and  except  in  his  maudlin  moments 
suffers  no  one  to  approach  him  with  familiar- 
ity. His  friendships  are  as  capricious  as  an 
April  cloud;  and  his  enmities  bitter  and  last- 
ing. 'His  tongue  "  a  chartered  libertine"  has 
under  it  the  venom  of  asps.  No  one  can  tell 
on  whom  his  next  cateract  of  abuse  is  to  fall, 
and  no  one  is  secure  from  it.  He  has  libelled 


RANDOLPH.  51 

some  of  the  best  men  the  country  ever  produ- 
ced, and  praised  many  that  no  body  else  ever 
heard  of  ten  miles  from  their  native  village. 
He  has,  like  the  jesters  in  the  courts  of  Kings 
in  former  days,  been  previleged,  to  rail  on  all 
around  him,  and  it  must  be  confessed,  that 
this  same  railer  is  diabolically  ingenious  in  his 
invention  of  phrases,  and  in  his  choice  of 
words,  to  give  force  to  his  fiendish  disposition. 
He  stole  a  leaf  from  the  curse-book  of  Pandi- 
monium  to  express  his  hatred  for  Henry  Clay. 
The  victim  of  his  wrath  called  Randolph  to 
the  field,  and  fired  an  ineffective  shot  at  the 
shadow,  in  order  to  convey  away  the  agonies 
of  his  resentment.  It  may  be  asked  by  you, 
if  there  are  no  bright  spots  on  his  escutcheon, 
no  fair  side  to  the  medal.  It  is  said  that  he 
is  generous  at  times  ; — that  he  is  a  kind  mas- 
ter  to  his  slaves ; — that  he  is  a  good  neigh- 
hour ;  and  always  popular  in  his  district ; — 
these  things  are  something,  and  in  a  fair  esti- 
mate of  him  should  not  be  forgotten  ;  and  not- 
withstanding his  love  of  English  books,  English 
manners,  Baronial  Castles  and  feasts,  and  his 
profuse  panegyrics  on  Ducal  pedigrees,  which 
show  more  acquaintance  with  the  blazonry 
of  their  armorial  bearings  than  of  his  own 
Country's  history,  yet,  there  are  men  who  say 
that  he  loves  his  country,  and  like  his  father 


52  RANDOLPH. 

would  have  the  courage  to  fight  for  it,  that  is 
if  he  could  have  his  own  way  of  fighting. 

On  the  whole  survey  of  his  character  Mr. 
Randolph  may  be  set  down  as  one  of  the  most 
eccentric  beings  that  any  age  ever  produced, 
and  perhaps  this  same  examination  would  as- 
sist to  confirm  the  moral  philosophers  in  their 
opinions  that  all  eccentricity  is  a  species  of 
madness. 


LETTER  VIZ. 


Washington,  Jan.  1830. 
DEAR  SIR, 

COL.  RICHARD  M.  JOHNSON,  now  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  was  last  year  of  the 
Senate.  He  is  about  fifty  one  or  two  years  old 
a  full  blooded  Kentuckian,  that  is  a  man  gen- 
erous,  warm-hearted,  brave,  ambitious  ;  and 
supplying  the  defects  of  education,  by  perse- 
verance,  hardihood,  and  fearlesness.  He  was 
sent  early  in  life  as  a  representive  in  Congress, 
and  at  once  took  an  active  part ;  and  quite 
a  high-minded  one,  all  things  considered. 
Among  the  memorabilia  of  his  life  it  should 
not  be  forgotten,  that  he  had  the  magnanimity 
to  espouse  the  cause  of  Mrs.  Hamilton,  on  a 
petition  for  pay  for  the  services  of  her  husband, 
for  many  years  in  the  revolutionary  war. 
This  pay,  Col.  Hamilton  had  relinquished,  in 
order  that  his  motives  should  not  be  questioned, 
in  the  course  he  was  about  to  recommend  to 
Congress  in  regard  to  his  funding  system.  He 
had  made  a  noble  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  pat- 
riotism,  and  he  was  now  no  more.  The  great 
6 


54  JOHNSON. 

man  when  living,  had  asked  nothing.  He  was 
dead  ;  and  it  was  right  that  the  nation  should 
remember  the  wisdom  of  one  so  generous, 
Col.  Johnson  never  gave  up  the  point  until  it 
was  accomplished.  Story,  and  others  came 
to  the  aid  of  Johnson  in  this  cause  of  justice, 
and  the  bill  was  passed  although  prejudice 
and  party  strove  against  it.  In  this,  as  in 
many  other  instances,  Johnson  acted  above 
party. 

Col.  Johnson  was  a  zealous  advocate  for 
the  war  of  1812,  and  after  voting  for  it,  went 
home  and  assisted  his  brother  to  raise  a  regi- 
ment of  mounted  volunteers  :  took  a  Lt.  Co. 
lonel's  commission,  and  marched  to  join  gen- 
eral  Harrison,  and  was  foremost  in  the  battle 
of  Thames  river.  To  this  regiment  command, 
ed  by  his  brother  and  himself,  then  divided  in 
the  fight,  much  of  the  glory  of  that  victory  is 
due.  He  took  his  course  against  the  Indians, 
and  it  is  said  that  in  this  conflict  he  shot,  the  eel- 
ebrated  chief,- Brigadier  General  Tecumseh, 
the  most  renowned  savage  since  the  days  of 
King  Philip. 

His  own  account  of  the  deed  is  plain  and 
modest.  The  Indian  shot  at  him,  and  wounded 
him  in  the  arm,  when  Col.  Johnson  fired  his 
horse-pistol  at  him  within  six  or  eight  yards 
and  brought  him  to  the  dust.  Johnson  was 


»v 


JOHNSON.  55 

then  ignorant  of  his  rank,  but  at  once  surmis- 
ed it  from  the  instant  retreat  of  the  whole  bo- 
dy of  Indians,  and  the  terrible  howl  that  ac- 
companied it.  They  who  deny  that  this  sa- 
vage was  the  fierce  Tecumseh  never  refused 
to  Johnson  the  palm  of  gallantry  and  suc- 
cess in  battle.  Johnson  is  a  plain  unaffected 
man,  a  warm  and  persevering  friend,  a  strong 
partizan,  and  both  friends  and  enemies  know 
where  to  find  him.  He  has  not  a  particle  of 
hypocracy  in  his  nature  ;  he  speaks  of  men 
in,  or  out  of  office,  with  great  freedom ;  and 
poising  himself  at  all  times  on  his  own  mag- 
nimity  never  becomes  the  slave  of  any  body, 
or  set  of  men.  He  is  honest,  fluent  and  open 
in  debate,  and  speaks  right  on,  ichat  he  does 
think,  whether  it  be  politic  or  otherwise  for 
party  ;  though  he  has  very  good  party  tact, 
having  been  nurtured  in  it.  There  is  noth- 
ing in  his  speeches  either  remarkable  for  elo- 
quence or  learning ;  but  abundance  of  direct- 
ness and  honesty.  Every  body  is  pleased  with 
the  sentiments  of  the  man,  if  they  do  not  think 
him  a  first  rate  orator ;  it  must  however  be 
acknowledged  that  there  are  those  who  think 
him  remarkably  eloquent.  Something  of  his 
popularity  arises  from  his  having  been  a  con. 
slant  advocate  for  the  abolition  of  imprison, 
ment  for  debt.  In  season,  and  out  of  season 


56  JOHNSON. 

he  has  never  deserted  his  cause  ;  but  has 
gone  on  to  call  the  attention  of  the  philoso- 
phic and  wise  to  the  sufferings  of  the  unfortu- 
nate debtors  throughout  the  country. 

Col.  Johnson  is  an  invalid  from  the  wounds 
he  received  in  the  battles  in  which  he  was  en- 
gaged, and  looks  pale  in  his  seat  in  the  Senate 
or  House,  and  is  seldom  seen  at  the  convivial 
board  or  the  evening  party.  He  is  careful  of 
his  health  ;  but  notwithstanding  the  feeble  state 
of  it,  he  manages  to  get  through  a  great  mass 
of  business  in  the  course  of  the  day.  The 
western  members  have  an  onerous  correspon- 
dence with  their  constituents.  It  is  any  thing 
but  a  sinecure  to  be  a  Member  of  Congress 
from  the  other  side  of  the  Allegany.  Col. 
Johnson  is  a  popular  man,  and  has  many 
friends  in  various  parts  of  the  Union,  who 
speak  of  him  as  Vice  President  of  the  United 
States  for  the  next  election.  With  politics  I 
have  nothing  to  do,  there  are  a  great  many 
politicians  and  philanthropists  who  would  be 
gratified  to  see  him  elevated  to  the  second 
office  of  the  nation. 


I.ETTER  VIZI. 


Washington  Jan   1830. 
DEAR  SIR, 

MR.  DWIGHT  is  from  the  mountains  of 
Massachusetts.  The  pure  skies  of  Berkshire 
have  given  his  person  an  athletic  frame,  but  his 
polished  manner  and  city  air  mark  him  as 
a  well  bred  man.  He  is  in  Washington  a 
fashionable  man,  not  of 'the  Brummel  school 
of  affectation  and  pretension,  but  of  that  easy 
dignified  cast  that  shows  the  man  of  mind  as 
well  as  of  manners.  If  he  moves  down  the 
dance  with  grace,  his  powers  are  not  confined 
to  the  ball  room,  for  the  Belle  who  has  been 
his  partner  there,  the  next  day  hears  him  as 
she  listens  from  the  gallery  of  the  house  of 
representatives,  mingiihg  in  the  debate  ;  and 
in  a  sweet  sonorous,  but  manly  voice,  support- 
ing or  defending  his -side  of  the  question  in  an 
argument  at  once  lucid  and  powerful.  If  he 
were  assiduously  to  cultivate  eloquence,  he 
would  be  second  to  none  in  the  country,  for 
he  has  every  physical  and  mental  capacity 
6* 


58  DWIGHT. 

for  a  great  speaker.  When  any  high  respon- 
sibility is  upon  him  he  is  powerful  in  debate. 
Mr.  Dwight  is  a  popular  man  in  the  House, 
for  he  is  affable  to  all,  and  yields  as  far  as  ne- 
cessary for  courtesy  to  every  one,  but  never 
gives  up  a  jot  of  principle.  His  independence 
in  his  course  of  debating  and  voting  is  as  great 
and  as  completely  maintained,  as  that  of  the 
roughest  member  who  makes  a  declaration 
of  his  independence  at  every  paragraph  of 
his  speech.  There  is  no  small  degree  of 
tact  necessary  in  understanding  the  temper  of 
a  deliberate  assembly,  and  this  he  has  equal  to 
any  member  of  congress.  He  has  been  long 
enough  there  to  futhom  all  the  depths  of  par- 
ty policy,  which  after  all  has  no  witchcraft 
in  it,  to  use  his  knowledge  to  advantage.  Mr. 
Dwight  does  better  in  a  complicated,  than  in 
a  familiar  question :  as  a  strong  man  appears 
best  when  he  has  weight  to  carry  to  swell  his 
muscles.  He  is  yet  young  and  will  probably 
serve  his  country  for  many  years,  and  were  I 
his  particular  friend  I  would  whisper  in  his 
ear,  "omnia  vincit  labor,"  which  is  the  true 
motto  for  a  man  of  talents. 

The  present  Attorney  General  John  Me 
Pherson  Berrien  is  from  Georgia  but  I  under- 
stand that  he  is  a  native  of  Philadelphia.  He 


BERKIEN.  59 

is  a  most  eloquent  speaker.  In  the  senate  he 
was  a  model  for  chaste,  free,  beautiful  elocu- 
tion. He  seemed  to  be  the  only  man  that 
Webster  softened  his  voice  to,  when  he  turn- 
ed from  his  seat  to  address  him.  There  is  not 
the  slightes  dash  in  his  manner  ;  it  is  as  grave 
as  it  is  pleasant.  His  views  are  clear,  and  he 
meets  the  subject  manfully.  In  his  arguments 
there  is  no  demagogical  praises  of  his  constitu- 
ents, no  tirade  of  abuse  against  his  opponents, 
or  of  the  section  of  country  from  whence  they 
came.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  good  judge 
on  the  bench,  and  an  excellent  lawyer  at  the 
bar,  and  surely  he  was  a  host  for  his  party  in 
the  Senate.  He  is  now  an  Attorney  General, 
and  a  cabinet  councillor  as  well  as  counsel 
for  the  cabinet.  The  public  of  all  parties  have 
great  confidence  in  him,  and  he  stands  fair 
for  higher  promotion.  It  is  so  seldom  that 
we  hear  in  Congress  a  classical  style  of  speak- 
ing, that  a  man  who  has  any  regard  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  taste,  admires  such  a  speaker. 
He  is  said  to  be  a  lover  of  literature,  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  in  his  high  office,  he  will  ad- 
vise the  President  to  recommend  its  protec- 
tion  and  encouragement.  The  President  and 
heads  of  departments  can  do  much  for  litera- 
ture and  science,  if  they  feel  disposed  to  do  it. 
The  records  of  the  nation  are  not  yet  thor- 


60  M'DUFFIE. 

oughly  examined.  It  is  time  the  work  waa 
done.  The  present  is  the  hour  to  begin,  and 
the  zeal  of  the  future  may  atone  for  the  apathy 
of  the  past.  It  is  a  solemn  truth  that  the  Uni- 
ted States  do  not  support  a  single  literary 
man  ;  as  such,  the  nearest  to  it  is  the  librarian 
of  Congress  and  he  is  obliged  to  be  a  mere 
shelf  and  catalogue  man,  whatever  may  be 
his  acquirements. 

MB«_M'DUFFIE  who  has  figured  in 
congress,  for  several  years  past  from  South 
Carolina  is  an  eleve  of  Mr.  Calhoun.  He  is  a 
fiery  speaker  ?  full  of  gesture,  and  one  would 
think  to  see  him,  when  speaking,  and  if  out 
of  distinct  hearing,  that  he  was  wrought  up  to 
a  frenzy,  such  is  the  violence  of  his  manner. 
Mr.  M'Duffie  is  unquestionably  a  man  of 
talents ;  but  like  most  men  of  talents  whose 
early  education  was  defective,  he  mistakes 
his  own  thoughts  and  opinions  for  original 
thoughts,  because  he  is  not  sufficiently  ac- 
quainted with  the  thoughts  and  opinions  of 
those  who  have  gone  before  him,  and  prides 
himself  upon  being  the  author  of  axioms  that 
were  promulgated  ages  before  he  was  born. 
Mr.  M'Duffie  has  been  prominently  brought 
before  the  public,  and  has  been  able  to  sup- 
port'a  high  character,  for  high  intellect  even  in 


DAVIS.  61 

his  errors.  His  late  reports  on  several  sub- 
jects  prove  that  he  is  industrious  and,  that  he 
spares  no  pains  in  his  researches  ;  and  all  be- 
lieve that  when  time  has  taken  off  the  fiery 
edge  of  his  spirits,  that  he  will  be  a  still  more 
conspicuous  statesman  than  he  now  is,  for  un- 
til lately  he  tore  his  passion  to  the  very  rags  ; 
\vhen  the  subject  might  have  been  discussed 
in  the  quietness  of  a  quaker  meeeting. 

Mr.  Davis  of  Massachusetts  is  a -fair  speci- 
men of  the  talent,  gravity  and  solidity  of  the 
New-England  people.  He  thinks  correctly 
and  talks  well ;  not  easily  moved  to  resent- 
ment or  worked  up  to  passion  ;  his^  speeches 
are  one  unbroken  chain  of  argument;  hia 
language  is  plain  but  forcible  ;  his  manner 
calm,  even,  and  manly  ;  his  voice  is  clear  and 
strong,  and  precisely  such  a  one  as  gains  at- 
tention and  secures  it.  He  is  always  so  self- 
poised  that  no  one  can  shake  him  from  his 
purpose  ;  so1  well  informed  that  he  is  never 
put  down  by  any  detection  of  a  mistake  in 
what  he  states  for  facts  ;  so  just  to  others  that 
no  one  can  complain  that  he  misrepresents 
them,  and  he  understands  his  subjects  and  his 
rights  so  well,  that  he  is  never  called  to  order, 
without  assuming  to  direct,  he  often  leads  the 
debate,  for  the  productions  of  an  honest  and 


62  DAVIS. 

powerful  mind,  have  their  effects  on  friends 
and  opponents.  His  speeches  are  listened 
to  and  read  for  the  information  they  contain, 
and  they  never  offend  taste  by  any  extrava- 
gance of  diction  or  inference,  and  some  of  his 
speeches  are  models  of  strength,  symplicity 
and  good  English. 


LETTER   XX, 

H 

Washington,  -,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, 

THE  rapid  growth  of  this  country  has  been 
the  wonder  of  the  world  ;  but  the  causes  of  this 
growth  have  been  overlooked  or  misunderstood. 
It  has  vaguely  been  attributed  to  their  freedom  ; 
yet  the  aborigines  were  freer  than  they  have 
been  ;  and  what  did  they  do  for  the  advancement 
of  national  prosperity?  The  secret  of  their  growth 
has  been  the  development  of  their  civil  institu- 
tions ;  the  seeds  of  which  they  brought  from 
their  native  land.  They  have  grown  up  without 
fetters.  The  very  independence  of  this  people 
was  a  living  principle  in  them,  when  they  first 
reached  these  inhospitable  shores ;  and  in  the 
fulness  of  time  it  burst  into  a  flame.  In  all  their 
reasonings  they  united  the  government  of  man 
with  the  government  of  God,  and  insisted  that 
the  ruler  over  men  should  be  just,  ruling  in  the  fear 
of  God.  The  history  of  the  colonies  is  full  of 
their  wise  sayings  and  doings,  but  I  have  not 
time  to  draw  your  attention  to  any  portion  of  it ; 


64  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

at  this  moment  my  remarks  will  be  principally 
confined  to  the  current  events,  and  to  living 
men  ;  but  occasionally  shall  take  a  limited  re- 
trospection. It  has  often  been  remarked  that 
elected  rulers  have  not  been  as  good  as  heredi- 
tary  ones ;  and  the  history  of  Great  Britain  is 
quoted  as  proving  it.  That  the  house  of  Lords 
have  been,  and  still  are,  a  highly  honourable 
body,  no  one  will  deny  ;  and  that  it  contains 
many  true  patriots  is  very  certain ;  but  I  should 
doubt  very  much  whether,  at  any  time,  it  con- 
tained  so  much  practical  talent,  and  mental  ac- 
tivity, as  the  house  of  Commons.  The  whole 
of  the  rulers  in  the  United  States  are  virtually 
elected  directly  by  the  people,  or  selected  by 
those  they  have  elected  for  that  purpose.  The 
seven  Presidents  that  have  ruled  over  the  Uni- 
ted States  since  1789,  is  a  proof  that  a  man  must 
have  some  rare  qualifications  to  induce  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  to  give  their  votes  for  him. 
He  must  have  some  strong  hold  of  their  affec- 
tions for  services  rendered,  or  have  given  proofs 
of  powers  from  which  great  services  may  here- 
after be  expected,  who  ventures  to  think  of  being 
President  of  the  United  States. 

Those  who  have  held  this  office  have  been 
men  of  distinction.  The  first  can  never  be 
equalled,  because  he  lived  in  an  age  that  can 
never  return  ;  and  circumstances  gave  him  op- 


THE  PRESIDENTS.  65 

portunities  for  exertions  that  no  man  ever  had 
before  him,  or  can  have  after  him.  He  was 
raised  up  for  the  times.  He  was  a  warrior  of 
that  peculiar  cast  that  such  a  struggle  demanded. 
He  inspired  his  followers  with  confidence  in  his 
capacity  and  courage,  and  the  nation  with  the 
belief  that  he  was  born  for  their  deliverer.  His 
wisdom  as  a  chief  magistrate  of  the  United 
States  was  as  conspicuous  as  his  military  tal- 
ents. He  was  advised  by  the  speech  of  the  trusty, 
but  influenced  by  no  man's  opinions  without 
sufficient  reasons  were  adduced  to  support  them. 
The  shocks  of  party  never  moved  him  ;  he  was 
as  quiet  in  the  midst  of  the  denunciations  of  de- 
magogues and  the  startling  prophecies  of  the 
wily,  as  if  all  had  been  peace  and  sunshine. 
He  contemplated  with  great  care,  and  acted 
with  unequalled  decision.  He  read  men  with 
great  sagacity,  and  selected  his  officers  for  their 
talents  and  probity.  He  was  seldom  wrong  in 
his  judgment.  He  may  have  committed  errors, 
but  never  did  any  foolish  acts.  He  was  truly 
the  father  of  his  country. 

The  second  President,  Mr.  Adams*  was  a 
true  patriot  and  a  high  spirited  man.  He  en- 
tered on  his  duties  with  more  of  the  experience 
of  a  statesman  than  his  predecessor  had  done, 
but  was  wanting  in  the  prudence  of  that  great 
man.  He  was  cast,  indeed,  on  evil  times,  and 
was  easily  chafed  by  untoward  circumstances. 
7 


66  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

There  had  begun  to  be  loss  patriotism  and  more 
management  among  politicians  than  when  the 
government  was  first  organized.  Party  spirit 
had  increased,  and  entered  more  into  the  pro- 
ceedings  of  Congress  than  in  the  administration 
of  Washington  ;  party  spirit  raged  with  violence 
every  where  ;  the  hydra  heads  of  the  French 
revolution  were  reared  in  every  quarter  of  the 
country  ;  and  the  fiendish  spirit  of  anarchy  was 
in  them.  The  political  atmosphere  was  poison- 
ed, and  like  the  mother  of  mankind,  many  of  the 
honest  were  seduced  and  overcome  by  that  sub- 
tlety  which  the  serpent  once  possessed,  and 
which  has  since 'been  so  hateful  to  mankind. 
Mr.  Adams  breasted  the  storm  with  great  ener- 
gy ;  and  if  not  always  with  judgment,  yet  al- 
ways with  sincerity  -and  capacity.  He  never 
cowered  at  opposition,  nor  shrunk  from  respon- 
sibility. One  of  the  evils  of  his  nature  was  that 
he  had  not  enough  of  plausibility  to  qualify  and 
soften  his  rigid  determinations.  He  persisted 
in  forming  a  navy  against  all  opposition,  and  the 
result  has  proved  his  foresight.  In  most  instan- 
ces he  put  good  men  into  high  places,  and  ne- 
ver tolerated  a  feeble  or  bad  man  because  he 
was  with  him  in  politics.  Times  have  changed  ; 
and  those  who  were  once  his  enemies,  have  be- 
come his  friends. 

He  returned  to  private  life  after  administering 
the  government  one  term,  and  lived  many  years 


THE  PRESIDENTS.  67 

as  a  sage  whom  all  men,  of  all  parties,  sought  to 
Jearn  the  history  of  past  events  and  to  hear  him 
discourse  on  matters  of  government.  His  space 
in  history  will  be  an  enviable  one. 

The  successor  of  Mr.  Adams  was  quite  differ- 
ent from  him  in  his  mental  organization  and 
political  views.  He  had  drank  deeply  of  the 
new  school  of  philosophy,  made  conspicuous  by 
Mandeville,  Bollingbroke,  and  their  successors, 
on  both  sides  the  Alps.  It  was  studied  in  Italy 
and  France,  had  reached  Germany,  and  swept 
over  the  Netherlands.  It  had  in  it  many  good 
points ;  it  inculcated  the  broad  doctrines  of 
equality  in  civil  rights,  and  wared  with  the  hie- 
rarchies  every  where.  The  theories  formed  in 
this  school  were  beautiful  and  splendid,  and  have 
in  part  been  realized  by  the  present  age.  The 
predecessors  of  Mr.  Jefferson  had  acted  upon 
the  maxim,  Adhere  to  that  which  has  been  found 
to  be  good  and  practical,  and  be  cautious  of  the  un- 
tried and  theoretical ;  his,  to  venture  on  the  untried, 
if  it  promised  more  happiness  to  mankind,  fearless 
of  the  consequences.  They  distrusted  human 
nature,  he  reposed  implicit  confidence  in  it. 
Perhaps  the  change  at  this  time  in  the  parties 
was  fortunate  for  the  nation  ;  it  checked  the 
vaulting  ambition  of  many,  and  prostrated  the 
pride  of  some  who  were  beginning  to  think  that 
they  were  made  to  rule.  Some  began  to  talk 
of  family  connexions  and  distinctions,  who  have 


68  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

now  passed  away,  and  are  forgotten  ;  and  who, 
from  a  momentary  political  or  pecuniary  eleva- 
tion, began  to  think  that  some  way  might  be  de- 
vised to  give  permanency  to  their  importance  by 
securities  to  succession.  The  policy  of  Jeffer- 
son and  his  party  sunk  all  these  visions  in  night, 
and  broke  down  all  the  hopes  of  the  aristocracy 
of  the  nation.  The  change  that  followed  was 
not  without  its  evils.  New  men  arose,  and  ma- 
ny of  them,  the  creatures  of  circumstances,  were 
destitute  of  political  wisdom  or  true  patriotism  ; 
and  not  a  few  who  assisted  in  building  up  the 
republic,  were  not  allowed  to  assist  in  adminis- 
tering the  government.  The  navy  was  reduced, 
the  vessels  of  war  sold  off,  the  army  not  thought 
much  of,  and  the  dreams  of  perpetual  peace  in- 
dulged. This  did  not  last  long,  and  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son found  that  it  would  not  answer,  in  the  present 
state  of  mankind,  to  beat  swords  into  ploughshares, 
and  spears  into  pruning  hooks  too  soon.  He  re- 
vived some  of  the  doctrines  he  intended  to  ex- 
plode, and  consented  to  think  it  was  better  to 
whip  insolent  foes,  than  to  buy  their  good  will  at 
too  dear  a  rale.  Public  opinion  is  always  fluc- 
tuating, but  never  so  far  out  of  the  way  as  closet 
reasoners  believe,  particularly  when  the  public 
are  as  enlightened  as  this. 

Mr.  Jefferson  was  communicative,  free  and 
generous  in  his  disposition,  and  fascinating  in  his 
manners.  He  practised  the  republican  sympLU 


THE  PRESIDENTS.  69 

city  he  taught,  and  in  a  most  extraordinary  de- 
gree took  the  people  along  with  him,  and  re- 
tained  his  office,  and  the  place  he  held  in  their 
affection,  during  the  eight  years  of  services. 
Though  historians  will  differ  greatly  upon  the 
effect  his  course  and  character  had  on  the  na- 
tional growth  and  prosperity,  yet  all  will  agree 
that  the  man  was  learned  and  philosophical,  and 
that  while  he  pursued  a  course  of  his  own,  he 
had  the  power  of  stamping  his  own  impressions 
upon  minds  beyond  any  statesmen  of  the  age  in 
which  he  lived  ;  that  he  was  not  avaricious  may 
be  known  by  the  poverty  in  which  he  died. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  how  the  fate  of  an  age 
is  in  some  measure  decided  by  a  trivial  matter. 
By  a  provision  in  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  which  has  since  been  altered,  the  Presi- 
dent and  Vice  President  were  voted  for,  without 
discriminating  between  them,  or  directing  who 
should  hold  the  first  or  second  office.  This  was 
left  to  depend  upon  the  votes.  The  highest 
number  from  the  Electoral  Colleges  was  conside- 
red as  having  been  given  for  the  President.  Mr. 
Jefferson  and  Mr.  Burr  had  an  equal  number  of 
votes,  and  therefore,  there  was  no  choice  by  the 
people.  In  the  House  of  representatives  the 
states  were  for  a  long  time  equally  divided.  For 
a  while  it  was  thought  Mr.  Burr  would  have 
been  elected  to  fill  the  office  of  President.  The 
difference  between  the  men  was  great.  Aaron 
7* 


70  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Burr  had  in  "him  the  elements  of  a  great  sol- 
dier and  a  profound  Statesman.  He  was  six- 
teen years  the  junior  of  his  opponent,  full  of  ac- 
tivity and  ambition  ;  and  that  ambition  that  looks 
beyond  the  hour.  He  had  been  a  soldier  of  the 
revolution,  was  with  Arnold  in  his  expedition  to- 
Canada  by  way  of  the  Kennebeck.  He  had 
left  the  halls  of  learning  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
to  join  this  hazardous  enterprize  ;  had  been  se- 
lected by  Arnold  to  traverse  the  wilderness  alone 
to  communicate  with  Montgomery  who  had  push- 
ed his  way  by  the  lakes.  For  this  adventure  he 
was  made  the  aid  of  Montgomery,  and  was  at 
his  side  when  the  lamented  warrior  fell.  He 
rose  still  higher  in  the  army  during  the  course  of 
the  war,  and  had  left  his  name  high  on  the  list 
of  those  brave  and  gallant  youths  who  had  gi- 
ven a  spirit  of  chivalry  to  the  American  army. 
When  the  revolutionary  conflict  was  over,  he  en- 
tered professional  life,  and  at  once  took  a  deci- 
ded part ;  was  soon  known  as  a  most  promising 
man.  His  legal  attainments  were  great ;  and  as 
an  advocate  he  had  no  superior.  Bland,  smooth 
and  eloquent,  he  guided  the  populace  ;  saga- 
cious, penetrating,  insinuating,  and  learned,  he 
influenced  those  in  high  places  in  the  courts,  or 
deliberate  assemblies.  He  was  equal  to  any  task, 
for  he  had  a  constitution  that  knew  no  fatigue, 
and  a  spirit  of  perseverance  that  nothing  could 
break  down.  His  tongue  was  never  silent  from 


THE  PRESIDENTS.  71 

any  dread  of  dignity  or  power,  and  his  heart  ne- 
ver palpitated  at  the  presence  of  man.  Open, 
bold,  and  daring,  he  sought  political  distinction, 
and  was  determined  to  have  it.  If  such  a  man, 
in  the  prime  of  manhood,  for  he  had  only  reach- 
ed  his  forty.fifth  year,  could  have  come  to  the 
Presidency  when  the  world  was  in  such  confu- 
sion, he  would  have  appealed  to  their  pride,  and 
millions  would  have  responded  to  his  voice  ;  he 
would  have  pointed  out  a  new  path  to  glory,  and 
myriads  would  have  rushed  to  take  it.  The  timid 
and  philosophical  even  now,  shudder  to  think 
what  he  might  have  done,  and  the  adventurous 
and  ambitious  on  the  wane  of  life  rave  at  what 
was  lost  in  so  great  a  man.  The  judicious 
however  feel  assured  that  the  destinies  of  na- 
tions are  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  without  deci- 
ding any  thing  upon  this  subject,  pursuade  them- 
selves that  all  has  been  for  the  best. 

Mr.  MADISON  followed  Mr.  Jefferson.  The 
country  was  then  so  exhausted  and  worn  out  by 
embargoes  and  non-intercourses,  that  Mr.  Mad- 
ison found  the  people  in  a  very  restless  state. 
To  pursue  the  system  that  had  been  tried  and 
found  totally  inefficacious,  would  have  been  idle, 
and  worse  than  idle  ;  it  would  have  proved  mis- 
chievous. Mr.  Madison  delayed,  and  reasoned, 
and  forbore,  until  he  found  the  west  would  not 
forbear  any  longer,  when  in  1812  he  recom- 


72  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

mended  a  declaration  of  war,  which  was  instantly 
declared  by  an  act  of  Congress,  and  which,  on 
the  same  day,  received  his  signature.  The  Pre- 
sident was  placed  in  a  perilous  situation  ;  for 
the  country  was  unprepared  for  war.  The  sup- 
ply  of  the  munitions  of  war  was  scanty,  the 
treasury  nearly  empty,  but  few  soldiers  in  the 
army,  and  no  experienced  commander  at  call. 
Those  brave  men  of  the  revolution  had  not  kept 
up 'with  the  rapid  advancement  of  military  tac- 
tics, and  there  were  few  young  men  who  had 
made  military  science  a  study.  The  navy  was 
small  and  not  fully  manned,  and  the  enemy  were 
on  our  coast.  This  was  a  trying  situation  for 
the  President.  The  war  went  on,  Mr.  Madi- 
son did  every  thing  he  could,  but  the  war  ma- 
chinery was  in  bad  order.  Sometimes  the  na- 
tion was  grieved  by  the  loss  of  an  army,  and 
now  cheered,  by  a  splendid  victory.  No  small 
portion  of  the  wealth  and  talent  of  the  country 
were  opposed  to  the  war,  and  were  reluctant 
to  support  it.  To  brace  up  under  all  the  evils 
Mr.  Madison  had  to  contend  with,  required  the 
philosophy  of  a  great  mind.  He  struggled 
through  all ;  met  all  the  dishonour  with  com- 
posure ;  received  all  the  news  of  success  with- 
out any  of  the  unnerving  effects  of  joy  ;  in  fact, 
he  made  the  best  of  his  situation  ;  and  found 
himself,  at  the  close  of  the  conflict,  as  popular 
as  he  was  at  the  commencement  of  it.  Mr. 


THE  PRESIDENTS.  73 

Madison  was  one  of  the  framers  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  had  more  to  do  in 
its  formation  in  convention,  and  of  the  support 
of  it  in  his  native  state,  than  any  other  man.  His 
views  of  this  great  instrument  have  been  pro- 
found and  consistent  in  every  stage  of  the  at- 
tack and  defence  upon  it,  in,  and  out  of  Con- 
gress. He  has  never  flinched  from  defending 
his  first  views  of  its  powers,  and  of  the  inten- 
tions which  were  incorporated  with  it,  at  its 
birth.  He  is  now  old,  and  on  the  confines  of 
eternity ;  but  his  last  effort,  in  the  Virginia 
Convention,  for  constitutional  liberty,  proved 
that  the  faculties  of  a^well  regulated  mind  will 
last  long.  Honesty  of  intention  preserves  an 
accuracy  of  memory  and  a  consistency  of  con- 
duct. 

Mr.  MUNROE  succeeded  Mr.  Madison.  He 
cam©  into  power  in  quiet  times  ;  the  first  term 
with  little  opposition ;  the  second  term  with 
none.  The  country  recovered  rapidly  from  the 
exhaustion  of  war  ;  party  spirit  had,  in  a  good 
degree,  lost  its  rancour  ;  the  whole  community 
were  busy  in  retrieving  lost  time  ;  and  the 
President  had  no  great  difficulties  to  contend 
with.  To  appease  those  hungry  for  office  was 
the  most  trying  evil  he  had  to  encounter.  To 
his  honour  be  it  said,  that  in  his  administra- 
tion, and  by  his  recommendation,  the  pension 


74  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

law  was  passed,  giving  a  crust  of  bread  and  a 
pitcher  of  water  to  the  war-worn  soldier,  who 
should  have  been  stayed  withjlaggons  and  com- 
forted with  apples,  from  the  hands  of  a  grateful 
people,  but  who  had  been  left  to  hunger  and 
thirst  by  the  way-side. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  was  successor  to  Mr. 
Munroe  ;  he  had  been  Secretary  of  State  during 
Mr.  Munroe's  administration.  There  was  no 
choice  by  the  electoral  colleges,  and  the  states 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  decided  the 
question  between  him  and  General  Jackson, 
who  were  the  two  highest  candidates.  Jackson 
had  the  highest  number  of  electoral  votes,  and 
his  disappointed  supporters  were  determined  to 
run  him  for  the  next  term,  and  instantly  took 
measures  for  this  purpose.  The  electioneering 
campaign  began  earlier  than  it  was  ever  known 
to  have  commenced  before,  and  was  conducted 
with  great  bitterness.  Mr.  Adams  administered 
the  government  with  the  most  scrupulous  integ- 
rity. His  policy  was  to  keep  things  as  they 
were.  He  made  no  changes  by  removing  one 
and  bringing  in  another ;  and  when  vacancies 
occurred,  he  was  quite  as  likely  to  fill  them  up 
with  opponents  as  friends.  Every  one  granted 
to  Mr.  Adams  first  rate  talents  ;  and  all,  who 
were  capable  of  judging,  acknowledged  him  to 
be  the  most  thorough-bred  scholar  and  diplomat- 


THE  PRESIDENTS.  75 

1st  of  the  country.  He  was  patient  of  labour, 
indefatigable  in  his  researches,  apt  in  acquiring 
and  ready  in  using  all  useful  knowledge.  He 
had  the  experience  of  a  lawyer,  a  legislator,  and 
of  a  minister  at  different  courts  ;  and  last  of  all 
as  a  secretary  and  cabinet  councillor  of  the  Pre- 
sident of  the  United  States.  Ancient  and  mo- 
dern languages  were  familiar  to  him,  and  he 
required  no  interpreter  in  his  intercourse  with 
foreign  embassadors.  No  man,  however  great 
his  patriotism  or  his  talents,  had  ever  filled  the 
presidential  chair  with  such  rich  and  varied  ac- 
quirements as  Mr.  Adams  ;  and  one  at  a  dis- 
tance would  have  supposed  that  he  would  have 
been  the  most  popular  President  this  country 
ever  had.  It  was  not  so.  He  had  broke  friend- 
ship with  his  old  federal  friends  by  voting  for 
the  embargo,  and  by  taking  a  course  for  him- 
self; and  had  been,  in  a  manner,  estranged 
from  them  for  the  space  of  eighteen  years. 
They  came  to  his  support  because  they  knew 
his  ability  to  serve  the  nation,  and  they  saw  his 
scrupulous  honesty  in  office.  They  had,  how- 
ever, deep  and  terrible  ranklings  in  their  bo- 
soms at  the  same  instant  they  dropt  their  votes 
into  the  ballot  box  for  his  election ;  for  he  had 
openly,  as  they  said,  made  the  insanity  of  a  few 
pass  for  a  disease  among  the  many.  'He  receiv- 
ed his  information  of  what  they  were  saying  and 
doing  from  prejudiced  sources ;  and  he  was  not 


76  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

sufficiently  acquainted  with  his  own  people  and 
kindred  to  judge  of  them  correctly ;  for  he  had 
not  lived  with  them  much.  He  forgot,  that,  if, 
in  the  plenitude  of  freedom,  now  and  then,  one 
talked  daggers,  there  was  a  redeeming  spirit  in 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  that  would  not  suf- 
fer them  to  be  used.  This  was  not  all ;  the 
party  he  had  served  so  heartily  were  not  satis, 
fied  with  one  who  would  administer  the  govern- 
ment  without  being  influenced  by  party  ;  avow- 
ing openly  that  a  party  administration  was  the 
true  genius  of  a  republican  government ;  and 
whether  the  axiom  be  right  or  wrong,  it  is  one 
that  will  be  acted  upon  hereafter  ;  and  all  politi- 
cians will  agree  that  it  is  a  better  course  than  to 
purchase  enemies  to  make  them  friends. 

Mr.  Adams  was  surrounded  by  men  who  had 
no  sympathy  for  one  another  ;  they  were  paired, 
•not  matched:  fortuitous  circumstances  brought 
them  together,  but  there  was  no  real  congeniali- 
ty among  them.  Although  a  republican  of  pri- 
mitive simplicity,  Mr.  Adams  had  no  qualifica- 
tion for  meeting  every-day  men  with  those  little 
courtesies  which  secures  their  affections.  Jeru- 
salem might  have  been  burnt  a  thousand  times 
before  he  would  have  sat  at  the  gate  to  steal 
away  the  hearts  of  the  people.  But  when  he 
was  met  directly,  and  enquired  of  directly,  no 
man  ever  spoke  more  freely,  or  more  honestly. 
He  had  no  disguise  about  him  ;  he  discovered 


THE  PRESIDENTS.  77 

iniore  singleness  of  heart,  and  disinterestedness  of 
purpose,  than  any  man  I  ever  knew  in  a  politi- 
cal station.  He  lias  retired  from  office  in  the 
fulness  of  intellectual  vigour,  with  sufficient 
means  for  an  elegant  independence  for  life.  He 
will  bring  forward  no  claims  for  unrequited  ser- 
vices, nor  proffer  any  appeal  to  his  country's 
generosity  for  assistance  and  support.  For  the 
city  of  Washington  he  has  done  more  than  any 
of  his  predecessors  ever  did  :  for  general  libe- 
rality he  is  behind  no  one.  The  true  otium  cum 
dignilate  is  his,  and  the  belief  is,  that  his  coun- 
try's history  is  to  be  the  object  of  his  future  la- 
bours. His  descendants  will  have  a  rich  inhe- 
ritance in  his  fame  ;  for  his  little  errors  will  be 
buried  with  him,  and  his  great  merits  perpetu- 
ated. 

• 

The  present  incumbent  of  the  presidential 
chair,  GeneralJACKsoN,  is  indeed  a  remarkable 
man.  He  began  life  in  the  humblest  walks,  and 
had  no  advantages  of  early  education  ;  but  such 
was  his  energy  of  character,  that  he  soon  at- 
tracted notice.  The  West  was  new,  and  he  grew 
up  with  the  society  around  him,  and  early  took 
a  leading  part.  He  had  been  engaged  in  politi- 
cal life,  acted  for  a  while  in  a  judicial  charac- 
ter, and  afterward  become  a  politician  again. 
He  was  a  soldier  from  a  child,  and  attracted  at- 
tention from  his  high  and  heroic  qualities  in  the 
8 


78  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

discharge  of  his  duties.  The  fighting  on  the 
frontiers  has  been  more  calculated  to  make 
daring,  prompt,  and  chivalrous  men,  than  regu- 
lar fighting  in  large  armies  ;  for  in  these  Indian 
hunts  every  individual  has  an  opportunity  of 
displaying  his  prowess,  while  in  a  large  and  re- 
gular  arm)',  individuals  must  be  restrained  by 
the  great  mass,  and  each  has,  in  a  good  mea- 
sure, to  share  with  them  in  good  or  evil  report. 
Men  gro\y  hardy  and  adventurous  who  have  to 
keep  arms  in  their  hands  for  defence.  General 
Jackson  was  a  terror  to  the  Indians  from  the 
Ohio  to  New-Orleans,  and  westward  to  the 
rocky  mountains.  He  annihilated  the  Semi- 
noles,  and  terrified  all  those  friendly  to  them. 
When  the  war  broke  out,  in '1812,  General 
Jackson  was  a  Major  General  in  the  militia  of 
Tennessee  ;  and  as  soon  as  it  was  found  that 
Great  Britain  would  probably  attack  New-Or- 
leans, he  was  sent  to  the  relief  of  that  place. 

He  had  many  difficulties  to  encounter  in  or- 
ganizing his  forces.  They  came,  many  of  them, 
from  more  than  a  thousand  miles  up  the  river, 
without  arms,  and  depended  on  finding  them  at 
New-Orleans  ;  but  government  had  been  remiss 
in  sending  them.  When  General  Jackson  heard 
that  the  British  forces  had  made  good  their 
landing,  he  marched  out  and  met  them,  that  same 
night,  as  they  were  at  supper.  The  conflict 
was  a  very  sharp  one,  and  succeeded  in  putting 


THE  PRESIDENTS.  79 

the  British  General  on  his  guard  ;  and  in  fact, 
checked  the  march  of  his  army  from  the  twenty, 
third  of  December  to  the  eighth  of  January. 
By  this  time  the  American  army  was  prepared 
for  them.  On  that  day  General  Jackson  fought 
them,  and  obtained  a  signal  victory.  Call  it 
what  you  please,  chance  or  a  miracle,  it  was  a 
wondrous  fight,  and  the  gratitude  of  the  Ameri- 
can nation  was  unbounded.  It  was  of  incalcu- 
lable service  to  his  country  in  general,  and  to 
that  part  of  it  more  especially.  It  will  not  be 
denied  that  he  is  a  lover  of  military  discipline, 
and  probably  has  sometimes  carried  his  love  of 
martial  law  too  far.  it  was  too  critical  a  mo- 
ment to  carry  a  statute  book  in  one's  pocket,  or 
to  square  every  inarch  by  the  doctrines  of 
'trespass  quare  clausum  fregii.  He  had  a  people 
to  save,  and  it  was  not  in  his  nature  to  do  it 
gently.  There  was  something  in  the  boldness 
of  the  veteran  soldier  that  was  attractive  to 
most  men,  and  particularly  to  the  young.  The 
suggestions  of  those  who  preferred  a  civilian  to 
a  soldier  were  lost  in  the  huzzas •  of  those  who 
panted  for  military  distinction  ;  and  at  every 
pause  and  return  of  the  shout  he  gained  popu- 
larity. In  most  states  the  change  was  rapid, 
and  he  came  into  office  by  a  large  majority.  If 
he  was  not  as  perfect  and  capable  a  man  as  his 
friends  represented  him  to  be,  he  was  a  much 
better  man  than  his  enemies  described  him  to 


80  THE  PRESIDENTS, 

be.  The  fire  of  his  temper  had  become  a 
flame  less  wild  than  when  he  was  earning  his 
military  laurels.  The  hatchet  had  been  buried 
and  the  wampum  exchanged,  and  most  of  his- 
enmities  were  gone.  He  has  now  administered 
the  government  for  nearly  a  year,  and  has 
shown  nothing  of  a  disposition  to  act  the  milita- 
ry chieftain.  No  gens  d'  arms  guard  his  door, 
no  halberdiers  his  person.  He  has  never  as 
yet  amused  the  good  citizens  of  Washington  with 
a  military  execution,  himself  preceded  by  laurel- 
ed lictors  with  their  fasces  and  axes,  and  with 
the  MASTER  of  the  HORSK  at  his  heels.  If  the 
apprehensions  of  those  who  foretold  such  things 
were  honest,  they  are  happily  disappointed.  If 
they  mistook  not  the  man,  as  I  believe  they  did,, 
they  certainly  misunderstood  the  genius  of  the 
people.  They  forgot  the  omnipotence  of  public 
opinion  in  a  great  and  a  free  country.  Every 
thing  political  must  be  shaped  by  it,  every  thing 
exist  by  it.  Public  opinion  may  be  as  volatile 
as  the  air  around  us,  but  nevertheless  as  vital  to 
republican  institutions  as  that  is  to  animal  life. 
Mind  in  this  country  is  operating  upon  mind, 
and  opinion  struggling  with  opinion  for  light  and 
knowledge.  Every  faculty  of  man  is  in  a  state 
of  improvement.  Intelligence  meets  with,  and 
combats  ignorance,  and  ignorance  becomes  illu- 
mined by  the  conflict,  infidelity  is  overcome  by 
faith,  and  truth  elicited  by  error.  In  such  a 


THE  PRESIDENTS.  81 

state,  while  every  man  is  testing  his  own  pow- 
ers, and  examining  the  rights  and  capacities  of 
others,  and  attempting  to  place  all  things  on  the 
basis  of  philanthropy  and  justice,  although  there 
may  be  a  good  share  of  evil  abroad,  yet  the 
dread  of  the  talents,  fame  or  influence  of  any 
one  man,  is  not  one  of  these  evils. 

If  military  ambition  once  burned  in  the  breast 
of  General  Jackson,  it  should  be  recollected  that 
he  has  reached  that  period  of  life,  when  the 
flame  would  begin  to  diminish.  He  is  more 
than  double  the  age  of  Alexander  when  he  died, 
and  much  older  than  Caesar  when  he  fell.  Age 
always  holds  on  what  it  has  gained,  but  seldom 
desires  to  make  exertions  for  new  honours,  par- 
ticularly  military  ones.  I  have  entered  into 
this  subject  more  particularly,  not  that  I  ever 
thought  he  would  give  the  nation  a  military  cast 
of  character,  any  more*  than  a  civilian,  but  be- 
cause the  politicians  in  England,  and  in  fact  in 
all  Europe,  affected  to  believe  that  this  nation 
was  rapidly  passing  to  a  military  despotism,  be- 
cause they  selected  General  Jackson  for  their 
President,  and  argued  from  it  the  downfal  of  the 
liberties  of  the  country,  citing  ancient  instances 
of  the  insatiable  appetite  of  military  chieftains. 
There  is  no  parallel  between  the  cases — there  is 
no  force  in  the  argument. 


8* 


X, 


Washington,  ,  1830. 

DEAR  SIK, 

WE  will  now  turn,  for  a  moment,  from 
the  subject  of  man,  to  contemplate  the  growth 
of  a  city.  Each  subject  has  its  singularities, 
and  each  affords  instruction. 

The  Potomac  had  been  considered  the  centre 
of  the  British  Provinces  in  North  America  long 
before  the  organization  of  a  Federal  government 
was  ever  thought  of  by  the  North  or  the  South. 
A  few  of  the  wise  men  of  Virginia  had,  in  their 
political  forecasts,  drawn  upon  their  imagina- 
tions so  far  as  to  think  it  within  the  limits  of 
conjecture,  that  through  the  Potomac  the  great 
western  lakes  would  find  a  highway  to  the 
ocean,  and  the  immense  interior  bordering  on 
them  would  be  opened  to  the  advantages  of  com- 
merce  with  foreign  nations.  When,  or  how, 
this  was  to  be  brought  about,  was  not  distinctly 
understood.  The  subject  was  one  of  those  great 
matters  of  feeling  and  reasoning  commingled, 
that  are  often  the  precursors  of  investigation  and 
effort,  and  for  many  years  remain  as  impres- 


CITY  OF  WASHINGTON.  83 

sions  and  presentiments,  before  the  event  gives 
to  vague  conjecture  the  character  of  prophecy 
or  foreknowledge.  These  opinions  were  gain- 
ing ground  in  Virginia  from  age  to  age,  and 
fastened  themselves  on  the  mind  of  Washington, 
from  his  earliest  years  ;  and  so  deep,  that  when 
his  reputation  had  reached  the  acme  of  human 
glory,  he  was  willing  to  risk  some  portion  of  his 
fame  in  making  every  exertion  to  direct  his 
countrymen  to  this  great  national  object,  con- 
nected with  the  government  of  the  United  States 
and  the  future  welfare  of  his  country ;  but  no 
place  was  now  precisely  designated. 

In  March,  1791,  the  President  of  the  United 
States  was  authorised  to  appoint  commissioners 
to  lay  out  this  city,  and  prepare  suitable  build- 
ings for  the  government  before  the  year  1800. 
By  an  act  of  May,  1796,  the  commissioners 
were  authorised  to  borrow  money  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  buildings,  and  to  pledge  the 
lots  that  had  been  given  to  the  United  States,  as 
well  as  the  faith  of  the  government,  to  refund 
the  loan.  In  1798  there  was  an  act  passed,  sup- 
plementary to  the  aforesaid,  to  hasten  the  pro- 
gress of  the  public  improvements.  So  far  were 
the  public  buildings  finished,  that,  in  April,  1800, 
an  act  was  passed  authorising  the  President  to 
remove,  with  all  the  departments,  from  Phila- 
delphia to  the  Federal  City,  which  had  been 
previously  named  the  City  of  Washington,  in 


84  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON. 

honour  of  the  President ;  and  in  pursuance  of 
this  act  the  government  was  removed  and  com- 
menced operations  in  the  city  of  Washington  the 
first  day  of  December,  1800.  It  cannot  be  deni- 
ed but  that  the  character,  wishes  and  influence  of 
Washington,  had  no  small  share  in  fixing  the 
seat  of  government..  Like  all  other  of  his  acts 
it  has  proved  to  have  been  dictated  by  wisdom, 
justice,  and  forecast ;  for  the  site  is  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  world  for  a  city.  From  the  hill  on 
which  stands  the  capitol,  the  most  noble  view 
presents  itself  to  the  eye  of  the  beholder  that 
the  imagination  could  paint.  From  the  north, 
round  to  the  south,  a  circular  line  of  high 
grounds  is  seen,  making  within  them  the  interior 
of  an  immense  amphitheatre  ;  which,  it  is  said, 
resembles  the  appearance  of  Rome  from  some 
of  the  elevations  in  or  near  the  Eternal  City.  The 
east  view  is  extensive,  but  not  bounded  by  high 
lands ;  The  horizon  sinks  with  the  power  of  vi- 
sion. On  the  south,  the  broad  and  peaceful 
Potomac  is  seen  for  many  miles,  extending  to 
Alexandria,  and  even  to  Mount  Vernon.  The 
whole  panorama  is  bold,  magnificent,  pictur- 
esque, and  yet  soft»and  beautiful ;  it  only  re- 
quires the  moral  consecration  of  long  past 
events,  the  massy  piles  of  ancient  grandeur,  the 
deep  and  solemn  recollections  of  the  mighty 
dead,  to  make  the  impression,  at  this  view  from 
the  capitol,  such  as  crowds  on  the  mind  when 


CITY  OF  WASHINGTON.  §5 

one  views  the  Vatican  or  domes  of  St.  Peter.  It 
was  laid  out  on  a  noble  plan,  but  it  will  require 
the  lapse  of  half  a  century  to  fully  develope  all 
its  beauties.  The  eye  of  practical  utility  is  long 
in  discovering  the  harmonious  proportions  that 
philosphical  forecast  designs  for  the  completion 
of  distant  ages.  The  colossal  figures  of  Praxi- 
telles  were  the  subject  of  derision  among  minor 
artists,  who  did  not  foresee  the  elevation  for 
which  they  were  made  ;  but  when  placed  in  the 
lofty  niches  of  the  temple,  his  master  designs 
found  their  exact  situations,  and  breathed  harmo- 
ny and  sweetness  on  every  beholder.  The  city 
of  Washington  struggled  with  every  difficulty  in 
its  commencement.  The  great  founder  did  not 
live  to  see  it  the  seat  of  government ;  he  died  a 
year  before  the  consummation  of  his  wishes. 

We  had  at  the  time  of  the  beginning  but  few 
native  artists  to  assist  him,  and  the  foreigners  he 
employed  had  many  preconceived  opinions  at 
war  with  his  great  plans.  Economy  was  the 
order  of  the  day,  and  it  was  hard  to  make  frugal 
statesmen  understand,  that  judicious  expendi- 
ture, on  a  broad  scale,  would,  in  the  end,  be  the 
most  prudent  course.  TJiey  considered  the  ne- 
cessities of  a  session ;  he,  the  requisitions  of 
ages.  The  country  was  straitened  in  her 
finances,  and  the  great  mass  of  the  legislature 
mistook  the  expansion  of  republican  simplicity 
and  grandeur  in  building  a  city,  for  regal  munifi- 


86  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON. 

cence  and  aristocratic  calculations ;  and  of  course 
every  broad  plan  was  narrowed  down,  and  every 
detail  cramped  by  the  wants  of  the  treasury. 
Other  causes  transpired  to  increase  these  dif- 
ficulties. When  the  site  of  the  Federal  City 
was  fixed  upon,  speculators  from  every  quarter 
of  this  country,  and  also  from  abroad,  flocked 
in,  to  share  in  the  chances  of  gain.  Instead  of 
forwarding  the  enterprise,  they  did  much  to  re- 
tard  it,  by  giving  the  lands  a  fictitious  value, 
and  by  keeping  up  nominal  prices  until  there 
were  no  real  ones.  It  was  a  fair  subject  of  spec- 
ulation, but  it  was  managed  badly.  The  agri- 
culture of  the  surrounding  country  was  not  pre- 
pared  to  give  a  ready  and  an  abundant  supply 
to  the  calls  of  the  newly  congregated  popula- 
tion, and  the  whole  concern  went  sadly  on,  year 
after  year  :  at  this  period  the  market  for  provi- 
sions was  scanty,  fluctuating,  and  often  exorbi- 
tant ;  and  sometimes  it  was  hardly  possible  to 
procure  wholesome  provisions,  at  any  rate. 
The  dwelling  houses  in  general  were  small,  and 
inconvenient  ;  and  not  only  the  citizens,  but 
public  functionaries,  and  political  dignitaries, 
were  crowded  into  narrow  lodgings  ;  and  amidst 
the  most  anxious  struggles  for  appearances 
among  the  leaders  of  fashion,  the  nakedness  of 
the  land  was  often  seen  by  the  sojourners  as 
well  as  felt  by  the  inhabitants.  The  great  mass 
of  the  population  suffered  in  some  way  or  other, 


CITY  OF  WASHINGTON.  87 

and  but  few  of  the  comforts  of  life,  then,  as  well 
as  at  present,  so  fully  enjoyed  in  the  cities  of  the 
United  States  generally,  were  known  in  Wash- 
ington. 

In  summer  the  streets  were  in  a  good  measure 
deserted,  and  in  winter  all  was  bustle  and  con- 
fusion. The  streets  were  without  sidewalks  or 
pavements,  and  in  this  naturally  humid  climate 
and  soft  loomy  soil,  the  mud  was  frequently 
deep  and  troublesome.  The  greater  part  of  the 
visiters,  and  many  of  the  members  of  Congress 
boarded  in  Georgetown.  The  English  goods 
shops  were  there  also,  and  many  of  the  best  wine 
and  grocery  stores.  These  daily  inconveniences 
were  annoying  to  the  members  of  Congress,  and 
they  were  in  ill-humour  when  any  call  for  mo- 
ney was  made  for  the  city  ;  and  it  was  evident 
that  the  dislike  to  Washington,  as  a  permanent 
seat  of  government,  was  fast  advancing  to  a  de- 
termination to .  remove  iu  The  goodly  streets 
and  comfortable  rooms  in  the  dwelling  houses  in 
Philadelphia  were  remembered,  and  nothing 
but  reverence  for  the  name  of  Washington  kept 
those  feelings  from  breaking  out  into  acts  of  le- 
gislation. 

This  was  the  state  of  things  up  to  1814,  when 
the  calamity  which  at  first  was  supposed  to  have 
given  a  finishing  stroke  to  all  the  hopes  of  the 
city  fell  upon  it  ;  In  August,  of  that  year,  it  was 
taken  by  the  British  without  much  bloodshed. 


88  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  troops  brought  to  defend  it  were  well 
enough,  and  might  have  been  made  good  sol- 
diers, if  there  had  been  union,  concert,  and  en- 
ergy among  the  leaders.  Civil  and  military  au- 
thority and  influence  were  jumbled  together,  and 
confusion,  defeat,  and  disgrace  followed.  The 
blame  was  shifted  from  one  to  the  other,  and  has 
not  as  yet  settled  precisely  any  where  ;  but  er- 
ror, and  gross  error,  must  rest  somewhere. 

The  whole  country  was  mortified  at  such  an 
event,  although  it  reflected  no  great  honour  on 
the  enemy.  The  capitol,  as  far  as  it  was  finish- 
ed was  burnt  ;  the  President's  house,  the  public 
offices,  and  the  public  property  of  the  navy  yard. 
The  whole  city  resembled  '  the  skin  of  an  im- 
molated victim  ;'  and  every  appeal  to  the  sympa- 
thies and  pride  of  the  country  was  made.  When 
Congress  next  assembled,  after  a  few  struggles 
for  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government,  the 
most  vigorous  steps  were  taken  to  restore  the 
city  to  tranquillity,  and  to  repair  the  public  loss- 
es. It  being  once  settled  that  pride  and  jus- 
tice would  not  suffer  the  removal  of  the  seat  of 
government,  private  enterprise  followed  public 
spirit.  The  corporation  of  the  city  seemed  to 
be  animated  with  a  new  soul,  and  individuals, 
relieved  from  the  fear  of  change,  risked  all  they 
could  command  in  real  estate.  Landed  proper- 
ty arose  in  value,  and  hope,  energy,  and  active 
business,  took  the  place  of  despair,  listlessness, 


CITY  OF  WASHINGTON.  99 

and,  wasting,  repining  indolence.  New  streets 
were  opened,  dwelling  houses  and  stores  were 
then  erected.  The  trade  came  to  the  city,  the 
boarders  left  Georgetown  and  came  to  Washing, 
ton,  and  a  new  face  was  put  on  every  thing  in 
the  city  ;  churches  were  built,  institutions  of 
learning  arose,  and  large,  if  not  ample  provision 
was  made  for  other  necessary  improvements  on 
the  face  of  nature.  This  work  has  been  going 
on  ever  since  the  close  of  the  war ;  but  it  must 
be  pleasant  to  the  citizens  of  Washington  to  re- 
flect, that  when  all  things  are  taken  into  consi- 
deration, that  they  are  not  indebted  to  the  gov- 
ernment,  in  equity,  for  one  dollar  for  all  their 
grants  and  favours  ;  but  that,  in  truth,  the  gov- 
ernment is  indebted  to  the  city  for  more  than 
a  million  of  dollars,  putting  a  fair  value  on  the 
property  now  owned  by  the  United  States  within 
the  city,  which  cost  them  nothing.  Blessings 
are  said  to  come  in  clusters  ;  for  as  soon  as  the 
city  began  to  flourish,  it  became  healthy.  The 
low  grounds  were  drained,  and  the  fever  and 
ague,  once  prevalent,  are  now  rarely  known 
among  the  evils  of  Washington  ;  and  at  present 
the  city  is  decidedly  the  most  healthy  of  any 
in  the  United  States,  or  perhaps  in  the  world. 
The  water  of  Washington  is  of  the  best  quality, 
and  can  be  brought  to  every  door  in  the  greatest 
abundance,  at  a  very  moderate  expense.  This 
9 


90  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON. 

was  provided  for  in  the  charter  given  to  the  city 
under  the  administration  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 

The  schools  in  Washington  are  respectable 
and  instructors  very  well  supported.  The  spirit 
of  religious  freedom  is  as  manifest  here,  as  in 
older  cities.  Toleration,  in  general,  is  a  growth 
of  long  experience  and  sound  information  ;  here 
intolerance  had  neither  precedents  or  law.  The 
restraints  on  the  exercise  of  liberty  are  fewer 
here  than  in  any  other  city  known  to  civilized 
man  ;  and  yet  the  morals  of  the  people  are  good, 
and  every  year  growing  better.  The  whole 
population  of  the  city  have  been  misrepresen- 
ted as  to  manners,  morals,  habits  and  disposi- 
tions.  No  people  are  more  kind,  or  more  hos- 
pitable, or  have  better  feelings  than  the  Wash- 
ingtonians.  The  bland  Marylander,  the  lofty 
Virginian,  and  intelligent,  shrewd  Eastern  inha- 
bitant, coalesce,  commingle,  and  amalgamate, 
until  the  virtues  of  all  are  seen  united  in  the 
most.  As  they  become  less  dependant  on  Con- 
gress,  the  more  elevated  is  their  standard  of 
mind  and  morals.  When  they  looked  to  the 
members  of  Congress  as  superior  beings,  who 
might  annihilate  the  city  by  a  vote,  the  very 
vices  of  the  legislators  were  copied,  and  the  ef- 
fect was  bad.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  members 
of  Congress  were  not  of  the  highest  order  for 
imitation.  Men  are  seldom  virtuous  in  bodies,  in 
which,  in  most  cases,  but  little  individual  respon- 


CITY  OF  WASHINGTON.  Q\ 

sibility  is  felt  or  acknowledged.  The  corpora- 
tion are  assuming  an  energy  of  character  wor- 
thy of  freemen,  and  are  looking  at  the  true  in- 
terests of  the  city,  and  the  citizens  are  uniting 
their  efforts  for  the  prosperity  of  themselves 
and  neighbours.  The  patronage  of  Congress, 
the  attention  of  the  corporation  of  the  city,  and 
the  efforts  of  individuals  are  now  beginning  to 
be  seen  and  felt.  In  former  years  their  exer- 
tions were  not  properly  appreciated,  because 
they  could  not  be  seen  in  their  effects ;  they 
were  actually  laying  the  corner-stone  deep<in 
the  mire  and  water,  where  it  was  difficult  for  the 
nicest  observer  to  fairly  calculate  the  value  of 
means  used  to  produce  ends  ;  now  all  things  are 
eeen  most  fully  ;  and  effects  are  in  proportion  to 
labours ;  and  whatever  is  done  is  visible  in  the 
improvements  of  the  city.  The  city  is  indeed 
an  emblem  of  our  nation  in  its  growth  and  cha- 
racter, if  not  at  first,  certainly  in  the  later  peri- 
ods. It  was  most  assuredly  afflicted  in  its  com- 
mencement, had  no  great  seasons  of  prosperity 
in  its  early  day,  and  in  the  end,  owed  its  glory 
and  stability  to  the  outrage  done  upon  it.  The 
streets  are  now  provided  with  ample  sidewalks  ; 
new  squares  are  opened,  the  streets  are  gradua- 
ted, and  put  in  a  proper  state  to  be  ornamented 
with  trees  and  fountains.  The  Ohio  and  Chesa- 
peake canal,  which  has  been  begun,  and  will  be 
put  in  operation  by  the  enterprise  of  individuals, 


92  CITY  OF  VVASHIGTON. 

the  spirit  of  the  corporation  and  the  liberality  of 
Congress,  is  one  day  to  be  the  pride,  the  conve- 
nience, and  the  source  of  prosperity  to  the  city. 
The  trade  will  increase,  which  will  increase  the 
number  of  inhabitants,  and  afford  them  many  ad- 
vantages, by  bringing  fuel  and  provisions  to  the 
city,  and  reduce  the  prices  of  all  the  necessaries 
of  life,  to  as  -low  a  scale  as  that  of  the  most  fa- 
voured cities  of  the  United  States.  The  Wash- 
ington market,  with  a  little  alteration,  might  be 
made  as  good  as  any  we  know  of.  The  glades 
of  Virginia  furnish  beef,  pork,  and  butter,  of  the 
best  kinds ;  and  the  immediate  neighbourhood, 
with  a  little  care  and  attention,  would  be  suffi- 
cient, and  more  than  sufficient,  for  all  the  de- 
mands of  vegetables  and  poultry.  The  soii  and 
climate  are  well  suited  for  all  the  fruits  of  the 
temperate  zone.  Peaches,  plumbs,  apples,  and 
almost  every  other  fruit  are,  or  may  be  raised, 
of  the  first  order.  Washington  is  the  happiest 
region  of  flowers.  A  garden  here  might  be 
made  to  yield  something  for  the  basket  of  Flora 
for  nearly  three  quarters  of  the  year.  With  a 
small  expense  a  fountain  might  be  made  in  eve- 
ry garden,  to  refresh  the  vegetation  in  the  warm- 
est seasons  of  the  year.  After  the  most  promi- 
nent sites  for  business  are  filled  up  in  the  city,  a 
better  taste  will  prevail  in  erecting  domicils,  and 
those  dwellings  a  little  removed  from  the  bustle 


CITY  OF  WASHINGTON.  93 

will  not  be  complete  or  satisfactory  without  a 
garden  of  flowers. 

To  pass  from  the  dulce  to  the  utile,  there  are 
fine  building  materials  in  abundance,  in  or  near 
the  city,  or  can  easily  be  brought  to  it.  The 
city  abounds  in  the  best  of  clay  ;  and  bricks  can 
be  furnished  to  any  extent,  at  a  few  weeks  no- 
tice ;  and  fuel  can  easily  be  procured  to  burn 
the  greatest  number  of  kilns  that  may  be  set  up. 
Ornamental  trees  for  the  high  way  or  malls 
would  be  of  rapid  growth,  much  more  rapid, 
take  the  whole  number  and  variety  of  ornamen- 
tal trees  together,  than  that  of  any  climate  more 
southerly  or  northerly  in  this  country.  It  is 
seldom  that  the  winter  is  severe  enough  to  in- 
jure them,  and  droughts  in  the  summer  are  not 
common.  Showers  are  frequent ;  the  clouds 
following  along  the  Shenandoah  and  the  Poto- 
mac, in  the  highlands,  spread  over  the  country 
where  the  Potomac  assumes  a  broader  surface, 
and  gives  a  freshness  to  the  vegetation  along  its 
banks.  The  soil  is  porous  and  quickly  imbibes 
the  rain,  so  that  no  stagnant  waters  are  found 
to  originate  diseases  in  the  hottest  weather. 
There  is  none  of  that  spungy,  humid  state  of 
the  atmosphere  here,  so  common  at  the  north 
in  August,  generally  denominated  dog-days. 
The  heat  of  Washington  is  not  greater  at  any 
season  than  at  Boston  or  Montreal ;  but  is  more 
oppressive  by  its  long  continuance,  and  the  tri- 
9* 


94  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON. 

fling  change  in  the  atmosphere  from  noon  to 
midnight.  This  may  be,  and  indeed  is  exhaust- 
ing ;  but  in  this  season  there  are  but  few  preva- 
lent diseases  ;  and  the  deaths  that  happen  are 
often  among  those  who  have  not  been  the  most 
prudent ;  or  whose  constitutions  have  been  bro- 
ken and  decaying  in  previous  years.  Man  is 
subject  to  the  first  great  denunciation  of  his 
Maker  every  where,  dust  thou  art  and  to  dust 
shall  thou  return  ;  but  he  is  as  much  privileged 
here,  as  any  where,  to  escape  it  as  long  as  pos- 
sible. In  fact,  nature  has  done  enough  for  the 
city  to  make  it  one  of  the  most  delightful  abodes 
in  the  world  ;  art  now  must  do  her  share.  Cap- 
ital, industry  and  business  are  now  only  wanted 
to  give  interest,  beauty,  yea,  more,  splendour  to 
all  in  and  about  Washington  ;  commerce  is  want- 
ed to  obtain  this  capital  and  to  secure  prosperity 
to  the  city,  but  it  can  never  be  so  great  and 
all-absorbing  as  to  endanger  the  welfare  of  the 
city  by  those  fearful  fluctuations  that  large  com- 
mercial cities  are  liable  to.  None  of  those  sud- 
den changes  in  the  markets  can  effect  the  great 
mass  of  the  citizens,  when  but  a  small  part  of 
them  are  engaged  in  commerce,  nor  is  it  so  near 
the  sea  as  to  fear  that  its  usual  supplies  can  be 
cut  off  by  a  war  or  blockade.  The  back  coun- 
try is  sufficient  for  all  exigencies,  and  perma- 
nent  requisitions  for  the  main  articles  of  life,  and 
and  it  will  have  easy  communication  with  the 


CITY  OF  WASHINGTON.  95 

eastern  and  southern  cities  by  steam  boats  and 
rail  roads.  If  a  real  and  not  a  fictitious  value 
is  given  to  property  in  the  City  of  Washington, 
it  cannot  fail  to  advance  most  rapidly.  The 
general  temperature  of  the  climate,  the  certain, 
ty  of  wholesome  supplies  of  provisions,  the 
chances  of  good  schools,  which  will  be  found 
here  if  they  are  not  common  now  ;  numerous 
and  well  organized  associations,  united  to  the 
easy  access  to  genteel  society,  on  those  terms 
which  cannot  be  common  in  other  cities,  will 
induce  many  respectable  families,  with  but 
moderate  means,  to  make  this  a  place  of  resi- 
dence. It  is  a  question,  with  many  if  this  gol- 
den age  will  ever  come  ;  but  who  can  doubt  it. 
Look  at  the  changes  of  the  last  ten  years,  and 
say  if  these  have  in  them  no  promising  augury  I 
If  the  citizens  do  not  abandon  real  for  imagina- 
ry right  ;  if  the  congress  of  the  United  States 
do  their  duty,  as  we  trust  they  will,  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  City  of  Washington  is  certain.  Some 
of  the  citizens  of  the  district  of  Columbia  are 
anxious  to  be  represented  in  congress  ;  but  it 
would  be  a  miserable  policy  to  change  the  hold 
they  have  on  the  general  goverment  for  legisla- 
tive protection,  for  the  honour  of  having  a  single 
representative  in  congress.  The  government  is 
growing  rich  and  the  fostering  hand  of  power 
will  be,  hereafter,  extended  more  liberally  to 
the  district  than  it  has  been. 


96  CITY    OF  WASHINGTON. 

With  industry,  enterprize,  prudence,  and  bar- 
mony  the  city  of  Washington  may  be  naade  a 
place  of  trade,  manufactures  and  learning.  The 
trade  will  be  very  considerable  when  the  canal 
is  opened  and  the  surrounding  country  catches 
the  spirit  of  the  age.  Manufactures  will  of 
course  go  pari  passu  with  the  demand  of  those 
articles  that  can  be  made  here  cheaper  than 
elsewhere.  In  addition  to  the  water  power  in 
the  neighbourhood,  fuel  can  be  afforded  cheap, 
by  way  of  the  river  and  canal,  either  in  wood 
or  coal  for  steam  engines.  A  well  balanced 
business  extending  to  all  the  common  branches 
of  industry  might  be  carried  on  here  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  city.  Taste,  and  the  arts  must 
grow  up  where  there  is  no  sudden  influx  of 
wealth,  no  deep  commercial  speculation,  whose 
success  gives  no  settled  plans  for  mental  im- 
provement, and  whose  reverses  damp  the  ardor 
and  dry  up  the  aliments  of  learning.  Those 
cities  whose  income  have  been  the  most  regular, 
not  those  which  at  seasons  have  been  the  most 
wealthy,  have  given  the  most  encouragement  to 
the  arts.  It  is  true  the  Medici,  the  great  Flo- 
rentine merchants,  were  patrons  of  the  arts  ;  but 
not  from  the  success  of  any  particular  enter- 
prize,  but  from  a  settled  plan  to  spend  so  much 
of  their  income  as  they  could  spare  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  they  made  as  regular  appropriations 
for  letters  and  the  arts  as  for  household  expen- 


CITY  OF  WASHINGTON-  97 

ses.  It  is  not  with  the  excess  of  wealth  that 
learning  flourishes,  but  with  the  judicious  use  of 
it.  Pericles  ornamented  his  native  Athens  to 
the  delight  of  his  own,  and  to  the  wonder  and 
admiration  of  succeeding  ages,  and  yet  his  rev- 
enues were  not  large  ;  but  who  ever  heard  of  the 
artists,  or  of  the  men  of  letters  patronized  by 
Cro3sus.  A  national  University  to  be  establish- 
ed in  this  city,  was  contemplated  by  that  great 
father  of  his  country,  Washington.  His  views 
were  expanded  and  noble.  The  University  was 
not  only  to  be  one  in  name,  but  in  truth  a  place 
of  letters  and  sciences,  with  the  arts,  both  useful 
and  ornamental  in  their  train ;  a  place  where  all 
that  is  known  should  be  taught.  Such  a  Uni- 
versity, besides  diffusing  pure  knowledge,  would 
do  much  towards  breaking  down  the  prejudices 
that  exist  between  the  different  sections  of  our 
country.  Educated  together  the  youths  of  the 
north,  and  the  south,  the  east,  and  the  west 
would  scan  each  others  merits  in  their  early 
days,  and  find  out  each  others  mental  powers. 
Such  an  education  would  give  them  opportuni- 
ties  of  knowing  each  too,  when  they  came  into 
active  life,  and  assist  them  to  form  accurate  opin- 
ions of  each  others  powers  and  capacities,  and 
fitness  for  particular  offices.  Such  a  univer- 
sity would  be  a  resort  for  men  of  taste  and  leis- 
ure, who  with  their  families  would  come  to  at. 
tend  the  lectures  of  the  professors  of  the  uni> 


98  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON. 

versity  ;  as  none  but  distinguished  men  could 
hold  these  offices.  In  truth,  whatever  way  we 
look  into  our  country's  welfare,  or  however  bold 
and  sagacious  our  reach  may  be,  on  close  inspec- 
tion, we  shall  find  that  the  mind  of  Washington 
had  been  there  before  us,  arranged  our  antici- 
pations and  marshalled  all  our  array  of  thoughts, 
and  he  with  equal  clearness  saw  all  the  difficul- 
ties we  had  to  encounter,  and  the  virtues  it  would 
require  to  overcome  them.  He  prayed  the  na- 
tion might  possess  them  ;  he  believed  it  did,  or 
would,  so  that  his  beloved  republic  would  es- 
cape the  fate  of  all  former  republics,  whose  his- 
tories are  satires  on  the  stability  of  governments 
and  the  virtue  of  the  human  race. 

We  are  now,  in  fact,  the  only  republic  on 
earth  ;  those  so  called  in  South  America,  and 
hailed  with  such  enthusiasm  by  the  lovers  of  lib- 
erty, are  at  present  only  mock-suns  on  the  clouds 
formed  by  our  rising  brightness.  The  temples 
of  South  American  liberty  have  not  as  yet  been 
purified  from  the  stains  of  the  idols  which  inha- 
bited them.  Superstition  and  ignorance,  and 
the  sounds  of  strife  and  blood-shed  as  yet 
drown  the  bustle  of  the  commitia.  They  have 
ample  means  in  their  hands  and  they  have 
the  wishes  of  the  better  part  of  mankind  for 
their  success.  We  have  believed,  and  still  fondly 
hope,  that  the  American  'Republic  is  not  to  be 
joined  to  those  of  former  ages,  over  which  the 


CITY  OF  WASHINGTON.  99 

plough-share  of  desolation  has  been  driven  and 
on  many  of  whose  brightest  deeds  the  pall  of 
oblivion  has  fallen.  That  the  fears  of  the  timid 
may  prove  idle,  that  the  anticipations  of  the 
wise  may  be  realized,  and  the  hopes  of  the  most 
sanguine  be  fulfilled,  should  be  every  patriot's 
prayer  ;  but  neither  prayers,  or  wishes  or  hopes 
will  avail,  without  enterprize,  energy,  learning, 
virtue  and  perseverance ;  all  these  are  in  the 
people,  and  if  they  be  true  to  themselves  they 
will  perpetuate  their  liberties.  Their  destinies 
are  in  their  own  hands.  The  responsibility  of 
this  age  is  tremendous,  and  it  will  be  increa- 
sed with  every  succeeding  one.  The  pillars  of 
the  temple  are  knowledge  and  virtue,  and  as  long 
as  these  remain  unbroken  the  edifice  will  stand ; 
but  faction,  like  the  strong  man,  may  break  them 
down  and  strew  destruction  around,  but  this  evil 
may  God  avert. 


*  *-*• 


XI. 


Washington,   Jan.   1830. 
DEAR  SIB, 

THE  capitol  of  the  Congress  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  is  a  very  noble  building.  The  order 
is  called  Corinthian  ;  but,  in  truth,  it  is  a  med- 
ley of  all  orders.  The  whole  edifice  is  now 
completed.  It  covers  an  acre  and  a  half  and 
1820  feet  of  ground.  It  has  been  an  expensive 
building,  having  cost  the  United  States  nearly 
three  millions  of  dollars.  The  square  on  which 
the  capitol  stands  contains  more  than  twenty 
acres,  and  is  laid  out  in  a  very  handsome  style, 
and  is  filled  up  with  trees  and  shrubbery  in  a 
flourishing  state.  The  dome  of  this  building  is 
the  third  in  point  of  size  in  the  world  ;  next  to 
St.  Paul's,  and  before  St.  Sophia's  ;  but  this 
building  has  been  so  often  described,  that  I  shall 
not  attempt  it ;  but  give  you  a  few  remarks  up- 
on the  ornaments  of  the  building,  which  have 
not  been  so  particularly  mentioned. 

Several  artists  of  note  have,  from  time  to  time, 
been  employed  on  the  capitol,  and  it  bears 
marks  of  their  taste  and  talents.  They  have 


ORNAMENTS  OF  THE  CAPITOL.  1Q1 

ornamented  the  inside  of  the  dome  and  other 
parts  of  the  building  with  the  labours  of  theirart. 
Over  the  western  door  of  the  dome  is  a  grop 
in  bass-relief,  representing  the  preservation  of 
Capt.  John  Smith  from  the  wrath  of  Powha- 
tan,  by  the  kind  interference  of  his  daughter, 
Pocahontas.  This  is  the  work  of  Capelano,  an 
artist  of  considerable  talent ;  but  he  had  seen 
more  Italians  than  Indians,  and  his  savages  are 
Italian  banditti,  and  his  intended  child  of  the 
forest  an  Italian  queen.  In  this  picture,  howe- 
ver, notwithstanding  all  its  defects,  there  is  more 
variety  of  expression  in  the  countenances  of  the 
group,  than  is  generally  found  in  stone.  This 
work  attracts  much  attention,  and  elicits  many 
criticisms  ;  but  it  will  continue  to  be  admired,  in 
spite  of  its  faults.  Smith  was  a  hero  whose 
name  is  imperishable  ;  his  life  has  more  of  ro- 
mance in  it  than  that  of  any  other  man  in  the 
annals  of  history.  Over  the  east  door  is  a  rep- 
resentation of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  at  Ply- 
mouth, 1620.  The  Indians  on  the  rocks,  the 
boat,  the  shore,  the  sea,  are  all  well  executed ; 
but  the  artist  mistook  the  character  of  the  com- 
ers to  the  new  world  ;  he  has  given  the  religious 
adventurers  the  hat  of  the  ancient  Pilgrim,  and 
the  dress  also ;  when  nothing  would  be  farther 
from  the  truth.  They  were  puritanical  adven- 
turers, and  not  crusading  pilgrims.  The  sub- 
ject is  one  much  better  for  the  pencil  than  the 
10 

* 


102         ORNAMENTS  OF  THE  CAPITOL. 

chisel ;  but  it  was  given  to  illustrate  a  portion  of 
American  history,  and  the  artist  was  told  the 
story  by  those  who,  probably,  did  not  precisely 
understand  the  capacities  of  his  art,  and  he  set 
about  it  as  it  was,  a  subject  dictated  to  him,  and 
which  some  body  else  would  have  been  engaged 
to  execute,  if  he  had  remonstrated  against  it, 
The  Pilgrims  of  that  day  never  thought  of  their 
glory  in  stone.  The  pen  and  the  pencil  have 
secured  their  immortality  long  since.  The 
sculptor  was  Causici. 

Over  the  north  door  is  sculptured  William 
Penn,  making  his  treaty  with  the  Indians,  in 
1680.  He  is  holding  the  parley,  in  the  fearless, 
ness  of  innocence,  with  the  savages,  who  seem- 
ed to  have  caught  the  same  spirit  and  to  be  go- 
verned by  the  same  peaceful  principles.  This 
treaty  is  worthy  of  all  praise,  for  it  was  kept  in- 
violate for  seventy  years  ;  but  the  moral  sub- 
limity of  the  subject  must  be  fully  understood 
before  you  can  relish  the  design.  There  is  nei- 
ther beauty  or  attraction  in  it,  taken  by  itself. 
The  capacities  of  the  art  do  not  reach  such  a 
subject.  The  painter  would  do  better  here  also. 
"  Gods,  not  men,  should  breathe  in  stone."  They 
are  only  seen  in  naked  majesty.  The  modem 
succinct  dress  in  marble  may  be  made  by  skill 
so  as  to  be  endured,  but  never  to  be  admired. 
Phidias  could  not  have  given  immortality  to  a 
modern  martinet,  in  dress,  with  all  his  frogs  and 


ORNAMENTS  OF  THE  CAPITOL.          1Q3 

taggcry.     The  sculptor  would  have  preferred' 
the  Winnebago,  in  his  war  dance,  almost  in  na- 
tive nakedness,  to  one  so  bedizzened. 

On  the  pannels  between  the  doors,  looking 
above  them,  are  several  fine  heads  in  bass-relief. 
One  of  Columbus  is  so  near  a  resemblance  to 
some  fine  pictures  of  him,  that  it  is  probable  the 
sculptor  had  hit  upon  something  near  a  true  like- 
ness. The  head  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  is  also 
a  fine  one,  resembling  the  best  prints  of  him. 
They  are  richly  deserving  a  place  here.  This 
talented,  but  unfortunate  Englishman,  deserves 
to  be  remembered  in  a  country  on  whose  shores 
he  made  a  vigorous  struggle  to  plant  a  colony. 
It  was  not  his  fault  if  it  did  not  succeed.  The 
heads  of  la  Sale,  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  are  rough 
statuary,  but  have  considerable  expression  and 
life  in  them.  They,  too,  merit  a  place  in  this 
pantheon,  if  enterprise  and  success  are  sub- 
jects of  reward  in  this  way.  These  are  strong, 
and  severe  pieces  of  physiognomy,  but  not' with- 
out talent  and  character.  They  could  not  be 
recommended  as  models,  nor  are  they  so  recom- 
mended ;  but  they  are  worthy  of  attention  and 
notice. 

Over  the  great  eastern  door,  outside  of  the 
dome,  there  is  a  head  of  Washington,  taken  from 
a  picture,  or  bust,  of  an  earlier  age  in  Wash- 
ington's life,  than  is  seen  in  Stuart's  great  pic- 
ture. The  bust  has  a  striking  likeness  to  the 


104         ORNAMENTS  OF  THE  CAPITOL. 

head  of  the  late  Judge  Washington.  It  is  a  la- 
boured production  of  Capelano's  chisel.  It  is 
supported,  to  speak  in  the  language  of  heraldry, 
by  Fame,  with  her  clarion  on  one  side,  and  by 
the  genius  of  immortality,  ready  to  place  the 
wreath  on  his  brow,  on  the  other.  It  is  ad- 
mired by  many,  and  is  certainly  a  specimen  of 
very  good  proficiency  in  the  art.  But  it  is  be- 
yond the  art,  and  skill,  and  genius  of  Canova, 
to  give  us  a  just  idea  of  Washington.  The  im- 
age in  our  minds  was  all  perfect ;  the  eye  could 
not  be  satisfied  with  any  effort,  however  mighty, 
to  give  it  body  and  tangibility. 

It  was  reserved  for  Lugi  Persico  to  produce, 
by  patient  labour,  and  unquestionable  skill,  uni- 
ted to  the  soul  of  genius,  a  work  that  will  immor- 
talize the  sculptor,  and  do  honour  to  our  coun- 
try.  It  is  an  ornament  for  the  tympanum  of 
the  east  front  of  the  capitol.  The  figures  are 
colossal ;  the  design  is  full  of  meaning,  and  yet 
is  marked  with  great  simplicity.  On  the  right 
of  the  spectator  is  seen  Hope,  leaning  on  her 
anchor,  and  extending  her  right  hand  to  the  skies, 
directing  her  looks  to  the  Genius  of  America,  a 
still  loftier  figure,  in  partial  armour.  Hope  is 
describing  to  the  Genius  some  of  these  visions  of 
glory  which  are  crowding  on  her  soul ;  some  of 
those  unborn  ages  of  her  beloved  republic  ; 
while  the  Genius  of  the  Nation,  with  dignified 
mien  and  placid  countenance,  points  over  a 


ORNAMENTS  OF  THE  CAPITOL.  1Q5 

third  figure,  which  is  Justice,  of  a  size  in  keep- 
ing with  the  others,  and  seems  to  say,  we  ask 
nothing  that  we  are  not  entitled  to  by  the  stern- 
est decisions  of  the  goddess.  The  eyes  of  Jus- 
tice are  not,  as  usual,  blinded,  but  are  opened 
on  the  day,  that  she  may  see  and  judge  all  that 
passes  under  the  sun.  Between  Hope  and  the 
Genius  of  America,  there  is  an  American  Eagle, 
a  noble  piece  of  statuary  ;  the  talons  grasp  the 
emblematical  weapons  of  defence,  with  charac- 
teristic power.  The  breast,  the  wings,  the  tail, 
are  full  of  life  and  strength,  as  is  the  head  and 
beak  of  majesty.  The  head  of  the  eagle  is 
turned  to  the  Genius,  and  "  with  eye  retortive 
looks  creation,  through"  The  easy,  elegant, 
and  natural  flow  of  the  drapery,  the  fine  finish 
of  the  hands  and  arms,  and  the  graceful  attitudes 
of  these  figures,  take  away,  even  when  you  are 
close  to  them,  all  those  impressions  of  coarse- 
ness which  susceptibility  and  taste  have  felt  at  a 
near  inspection  of  colossal  figures.  It  is  not  in 
nature  to  love  the  person  of  a  giant.  It  was  only 
through  the  medium  of  his  deeds  of  generosity 
and  valour  that  Hercules  won  the  hearts  of  those 
that  praised  him.  Between  the  overgrown  and 
the  diminutive  exist  the  forms  of  symmetry, 
grace,  and  beauty.  That  art  must  be  exquisite 
that  gives  us  those  huge  dimensions,  as  it  were, 
directly  in  our  eye-shot,  and  6till  contrives  to 
take  off  the  general  impression  of  coarseness. 
10" 


106          ORNAMENTS  OF  THE  CAPITOL. 

Mr.  Persico's  work  is  now  to  be  examined  from 
the  ground  only  ;  the  proper  line  of  vision  be. 
ing  extended  more  than  an  hundreed  feet  from 
the  object.  At  this  distance  the  figures  appear 
about  the  size  of  human  beings,  full  grown.  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  they  are  far 
superior  to  any  thing  of  the  kind  in  this  coun- 
try, entirely  free  from  that  hoiden  air,  or  that 
prominence  of  parts,  often  made  in  works  of  this 
sort,  to  catch  the  gaze  of  the  tasteless  spectator. 
This  group  appears  all  life,  celestial  life  ;  spi- 
rits communing  with  spirits,  in  the  dignity  and 
calm  repose  of  upper  natures,  without  a  single 
throe  of  mortal  thought-bearing.  ^ 

After  having  said  so  much  of  the  work,  it  is 
proper  that  I  should  say  something  of  the  artist. 
Mr.  Persico  is  a  Neapolitan,  of  about  thirty 
years  of  age,  or  perhaps  he  is  a  little  older,  and 
full  of  the  inspiration  of  his  art.  The  clash  of 
parties  does  not  interest  him,  or  the  animated 
debate  detain  him  but  for  a  moment.  The  gaie- 
ties of  the  saloon,  or  the  festive  board,  have  but 
few  charms  for  him,  notwithstanding  he  posses- 
ses the  mercurial  temperament  of  his  nation. 
Distinction  in  his  art  is  the  predominant  passion 
of  his  soul ;  and  if  he  looks  at  a  fair  one  ever  so 
earnestly,  it  is  only  to  find  some  line  of  beauty, 
or  some  grace  of  form  or  motion,  to  transfer  to 
stone  ;  or,  if  he  listens  to  an  orator  in  the  glow 
of  bis  genius,  and  when  the  light  of  his  mind  is 


ORNAMENTS  OF  THE  CAPITOL.         107 

beaming  on  all  around  him,  it  is  only  that  he 
may  catch  all  this  to  give  it  to  after  ages,  when 
the  image  of  the  speaker  has  faded  from  the  me- 
mories of  living  men. 

The  ornaments  of  the  Superior  Court  Room 
are  not  numerous.  The  only  one  worthy  of 
particular  attention  is  a  group  opposite  the  bench 
of  justice.  On  the  left,  as  seen  from  the  bench, 
is  a  figure  too  lank  and  lean  for  a  cupid,  or  an 
angel ;  but  is  probably  intended  for  one  or  the 
other  of  these  supernatural  beings,  or  perhaps 
for  the  Genius  of  the  constitution.  The  figure 
has  wings,  and  holds  the  constitution  of  the  Uni. 
ted  States  in  its  hand.  On  the  head  of  the 
figure,  whatever  it  may  be,  is  a  glory,  or  a 
schechina.  This  is  in  bad  taste.  It  is  attempt, 
ing  too  much,  and  therefore  produces  a  failure. 
All  the  other  parts  of  the  design  are  classical. 
This  is  from  sacred  history.  The  middle  figure 
is  Justice  sitting  in  a  chait,  (Phidias  6r  Praxi- 
telles  knew  nothing  of  such  a  seat  for  the  god- 
dess,) with  her  right  arm  leaning  on  her  sword, 
and  holding  the  equal  scales  in  her  left.  The 
face  of  this  figure  is  excellent,  and  the  drapery 
flowing  and  easy.  Her  proportions  are  rather 
more  delicate  than  those  in  which  the  ancients 
exhibited  the  inflexible  goddess.  Before  her 
sits  the  bird  of  wisdom,  perched  near  some  vo- 
lumes of  law  ;  but  the  owl  is  formed  in  the  mo- 


108         ORNAMENTS  OF  THE  CAPITOL. 

dern  school ;  and  the  capitol  to  a  groat,  Mi- 
nerva  would  not  know  her  bird  if  she  should  see 
him  so  beaked,  so  feathered,  so  trim  and  dove- 
like,  unless  she  should  guess  it  out  by  recog- 
nizing her  sister  Justice  in  the  form  of  this 
belle,  or  resort  to  her  divinity  to  discover  the 
whole  group  in  their  transformation.  This  room 
is  one  of  deep  interest  to  every  lover  of  his 
country.  To  see  seven  quiet,  good  looking 
men,  covered  with  a  slight  robe  of  black,  with- 
out enough  of  the  insignia  of  office  to  tell  them 
from  so  many  pall  bearers,  sitting  together,  lis- 
tening to  the  arguments  of  men  from  every  state 
in  the  Union,  on  great  and  important  questions, 
of  municipal,  civil,  and  international  law  ;  and 
thus  without  any  emotion  or  excitement,  settling 
all  the  numerous  conflicting  opinions  that  have 
grown  up  in  this  republic  since  its  formation,  is 
a  specimen  of  the  moral  sublime,  unequalled  in 
the  annals  of  civil  or  ecclesiastical  history. 
These  oracles  of  the  Delphic  cave  have  as  yet 
been  free  from  the  corruption  or  fear  of  executive 
power,  and  uninfluenced  by  party  strife  in  the 
halls  of  legislation.  As  long  as  this  sanctuary 
is  unassailed,  and  talents  and  integrity  are  se- 
lected and  maintained  in  this  branch  of  govern- 
ment, so  long  will  it  be  the  palladium  of  Ameri- 
can liberties  ;  but  wo-betide  the  hour  when 
political  rancour  shall  come,  within  these  walls, 


ORNAMENTS  OF  THE  CAPITOL.         109 

to  poison  the  fountains  of  justice,  or  to  weaken 
her  arm.  The  bickerings  above  them,  in  the 
senate  chamber,  may  pass  away,  and  the  many 
boisterous  and  idle  speeches  be  forgotten,  while 
the  country  is  safe ;  but  once  pollute  this  hall, 
and  the  guardian  Genius  of  the  liberties  of  this 
country  will  leave  it  for  ever. 


UTTER   ZH. 


Washington,  ,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, 

THE  PRESIDENT'S  HOUSE. — I  shall  be 
particular  in  my  description  of  this  building,  as 
so  much  has  been  said  of  it  which  was  errone- 
ous. It  is  a  magnificent  mansion,  or  rather  will 
be  when  finished.  It  stands  near  the  centre  of 
one  of  the  largest  squares  of  the  city,  on  an  em- 
inence,  nearly  a  mile  and  an  half  west  from  the 
Capitol.  The  building  is  of  the  Ionic  order,  with 
a  southern  and  a  northern  front.  It  is  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy  five  feet  long,  and  eighty-five 
in  width  ;  it  has  two  lofty  stories  above  the  base- 
ment. There  are  thirty-one  rooms  of  consid- 
erable size  within  the  walls.  As  you  enter  the 
north  door  there  is  a  fine  large  hall,  called  the 
entrance  hall.  At  the  left  of  this  is  the  eastern 
room,  whose  length  is  the  width  of  the  house, 
making  a  room  in  the  clear  eighty  feet  in  length, 
forty  feet  in  width,  and  twenty. eight  feet  in 
height,  with  four  fire  places,  two  of  them  of  ele- 
gant marble  jams,  mantle-pieces,  &c.  From  the 


PRESIDENT'S  HOUSE.  HI 

south  of  the  Hall  you  enter  the  elyptical  room, 
which  is  the  general  audience  room  on  Levee 
nights.  The  east  room  was  intended  for  a  gen- 
eral  audience  room  ;  and  the  elyptical  room  to 
receive  foreign  ambassadors,  and  public  func- 
tionaries, on  occasions  of  ceremony  ;  but  the 
east  room  not  having  been  furnished,  until  lately, 
the  elyptical  room  has  been  used  for  all  public 
ceremonies.  East  of  the  elyptical  room  is  the 
Green  Drawing  Room  ;  this  is  of  a  medium  size 
for  such  an  edifice.  On  the  west  of  the  elypti- 
cal  room  is  the  Yellow  Drawing  Room  ;  on  the 
west  from  this  is  the  large  Dining  Room,  of  a 
fine  size,  and  farther  west  still  is  the  small  Dining 
Room,  and  beyond  this  is  the  Porters  room. 

The  north  front  of  the  upper  story  contains 
six  rooms  for  various  purposes.  The  south  front 
has  seven  rooms  ;  the  anti-chambers,  the  audi- 
ence chamber,  and  Lady's  Parlour  ;  this  is  di- 
rectly over  the  elyptical  room,  and  of  the  same 
size  of  that.  The  basement  story  contains  ele- 
ven rooms,  kitchen,  pantry,  butler's  room,  &c. 
These  are  cool  and  convenient  in  the  summer, 
and  warm  in  the  winter  from  the  massy  walls  of 
the  edifice. 

Some  of  the  furniture  of  the  house  is  elegant, 
but  in  general  it  looks  much  abused  from  the 
crowds  of  careless  visiters.  The  Lady's  par- 
lour may  be  said  to  be  superbly  furnished,  but 
this  remark  does  not  extend  to  many  other 


112  PRESIDENT'S   HOUSE. 

rooms.  Within  twelve  years  past  congress  have 
expended  eighty  thousand  dollars  in  furnishing 
this  mansion,  and  there  was  some  old  furniture 
of  the  former  stocks.  Some  portion  of  the  plate 
is  elegant  and  is  now  worth  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars, or  more. 

The  ornaments  are  sparse  and  not  of  high  or- 
der.  In  the  second  south-east  room  there  is  a 
map  of  Virginia  ;  a  portrait  of  Bolivar  ;  a  bust  of 
Washington,  and  one  of  Americus  Vespacius. 
These  latter  ornaments  are  very  good  specimens 
of  the  arts.  In  the  third  room,  the  anti-chamber, 
there  is  an  engraving  of  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence in  a  gilt  frame.  In  the  yellow  drawing 
room  there  is  a  portrait  of  Washington  from  the 
pencil  of  Stuart.  In  this  room  there  is  a  French 
piano,  which  it  is  said  cannot  be  kept  in  tune. 
In  the  days  of  omens,  when  Memnon's  harp  re- 
sponded to  the  ray  of  the  sun,  or  ^Eolus  first 
breathed  among  the  reeds,  this  might  be  thought 
to  have  a  mysterious  bearing  on  the  jars  of  the 
Cabinet  councils  or  at  least,  a  Greek  Poet  would 
have  said  that  the  Genius  of  the  place  was  not 
always  happy,  and  tuneful.  This  palace  belongs 
to  the  people,  and  should  be  adorned  with  the 
best  specimens  of  the  fine  arts  the  country  can 
produce.  The  works  of  the  great  painters 
should  hang  upon  the  walls,  and  those  of  their 
sculptors  fill  every  niche.  To  the  tenants  of  this 
house  it  cannot  be  of  much  importance,  for  to 


PRESIDENT'S  HOUSE.  H3 

them  it  is  only  a  caravansy,  where  they  throw 
down  their  wallets  to  cast  a  horoscope  to  lay 
spirits,  and  raise  spells,  and  their  hour  comes, 
and  they  take  up  their  march  without  restora- 
tion to  health,  or  a  forgiveness  of  their  sins. 
Such  is  the  omnipotence  of  the  public  mind  in 
a  free  government.  The  whole  square,  except 
a  few  spaces  for  iron  gates  is  surrounded  by  a 
substantial  stone  wall  of  excellent  masonry. 
The  four  public  offices  of  the  secretaries  are 
within  these  walls.  The  view  from  the  north 
front  is  extensive  and  beautiful,  but  from  the 
south  front  it  is  more  extensive  and  still  more 
resplendent,  embracing  in  its  range  a  lovely 
prospect  of  the  Potomac. 

The  site  of  the  house  is  elevated  about  sixty 
feet  above  the  river,  and  the  descent  is  quite 
gradual  to  it.  On  the  south-eastern  side  of  the 
wall  there  is  a  stone  arch  for  a  gateway,  it  looks 
from  the  antiquity  of  the  style  and  the  colour  of 
the  material  of  which  it  is  made,  as  if  it  had 
stood  centuries  defying  the  climate.  Two  large 
ancient  weeping  willows,  one  on  each  side  of 
the  arch,  add  much  to  its  venerable  appearance. 
These  trees  have  not  grown  up  since  the  date 
of  the  federal  constitution.  They  are  older  than 
the  city's  charter.  They  were  provincial  seed- 
lings, now  national  monuments.  It  is  said  that 
an  accomplished  lady  of  the  Great  House  in  for- 
mer  days  when  congratulated  upon  her  eleva- 
11 


114  MERIDIAN  HILL. 

tion  remarked  with  a  smile,  "I  don't  know  that 
there  is  much  cause  for  congratulation  ;  the 
President  of  the  United  States  generally  comes 
in  at  the  iron  gate,  and  goes  out  at  the  weeping 
willows." 

MERIDIAN  HILL  as  seen  from  the  president's 
house  is  situated  ahout  three  quarters  of  a  mile 
west  of  Columbia  college,  is  a  handsome  seat, 
built  by  commodore  Porter  at  great  expense, 
which  has  been  the  temporary  residence  of  Mr. 
Adams  the  late  president  of  the  United  States. 
It  probably  derives  its  name  from*  the  expecta- 
tion that  an  tjbservatory  would  be  erected  there 
by  the  government  of  the  United  States.  To- 
ward such  an  object  there  were  some  steps  ta- 
ken. In  the  year  "1821  the  president  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  authorized,  under  a  resolve  of  con- 
gress, William  Lambert,  Esq.  a  distinguished 
mathematician  to  take  proper  measures  for  as- 
certaining-with  precision  and  accuracy  the  lon- 
gitude of  the  Capitol  from  Greenwich  or  Paris. 
He  was  assisted  in  taking  his  observations  by 
William  Elliot  Esq.  who  had  an  extensive  astro- 
nomical knowledge  and  experience  in  the  use 
of  instrumenls.  This  commission  was  executed 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  president.  The  govern- 
ment also  sent  an  experienced  mathematician, 
Mr.  Hasler  to  Europe  to  purchase  or  cause  to 
be  made,  all  such  instruments  as  might  in  his 


MERIDIAN  HILL.  115, 

opinion  be  necessary  for  an  observatory.  A 
most  costly  and  admirable  set  of  instruments 
was  procured  probably,  equal,  or  superior  to 
any  set  in  Europe  ;  but  the  observatory  was  not 
erected,  and  when  it  was  recommended  by  the 
next  president,  the  whole  was  ridiculed  and  lost. 
The  costly  materials  are  nearly  ruined  by  rust, 
and  neglect.  It  is  not  made  the  duty  of  any 
department  to  take  care  of  them.  If  this  plan 
of  erecting  an  observatory  had  been  carried  in- 
to effect  we  should  now  make  all  our  calcula- 
tions of  longitude  from  Washington,  instead  of 
Greenwich,  which  might  have  been  called  an 
era  of  scientific  independence,  which  it  behooves 
this  country  to  declare  as  soon  as  possible. 
They  have  scarcely  a  map  or  chart  of  their  own, 
out  of  their  own  territories.  They  have  in  the 
midst  of  every  boast  been  guided  more  by  the 
light  of  other  minds  than  their  own,  a  mortify- 
ing fact  to  those  of  their  countrymen  who  are 
willing  to  make  every  exertion  to  wipe  away 
this  stain  from  their  "proudly  emblazoned  es- 
cutcheon," and  to  make  this  equal  with  other  na- 
tions in  contributions  to  the  common  stock  of 
knowledge.  Individuals  have  done  much,  gov- 
ernment but  little,  in  the  cause  of  science. 
The  government  have  done  nothing  of  a  public 
nature  in  the  city  to  assist  in  measuring  space 
or  time.  There  is  not  even  a  public  clock  to 
regulate  the  hours  of  business  or  pleasure,  or  to 


116  MERIDIAN  HILL. 

tell  the  weary  and  restless  applicant  for  office 
how  pass  his  long,  and  tedious  days  of  heats 
and  chills,  in  waiting  for  a  definite  answer  from 
a  department  of  the  government.  Indeed,  I  had 
almost  forgotten  to  state  that  there  is  a  sun-dial 
on  the  front  of  the  department  of  State.  This 
was  probably,  put  there  as  the  devise  of  some 
philosopher  to  teach  the  passing  generations  of 
politicians  a  solemn  moral  ;  the  design  was  a 
happy  one,  for  it  has  often  marked  the  hours 
of  a  great  man's  fame,  and  seen  them  pass  away 
as  a  shadow  on  its  face* 


iETTER   XIII. 


Washington,  Jan.  •  ,  1830V 

DEAR  SIR, 

THE  LIBRARY  op  CONGRESS. — Congress 
had  provided  but  few  books  for  the  general  rea- 
der, until  Mr.  Jefferson  offered  his -library  to 
them  as  nucleus  for  a  future  national  library  ; 
the  journals,  laws,  and  state  papers  were  about 
all  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  could 
have  access  to  in  their  public  reading  room,  un- 
til the  Jefferson  library  was  purchased.    It  was 
a  cheap  one  for  the  United  States  considering 
how   many   excellent   papers   in   the   form   of 
speeches,  tracts,  pamphlets,  and  books  it  con- 
tains upon   revolutionary  history.     The  argu- 
ments urged  to  bring  on  the  contest,  the  reason- 
ing required  to  keep  the  spirit  of  patriotism 
alive,  to  induce  the  people  to  form  and  accept  a 
form  of  goverment,  to  secure  the  liberty  they 
had  achieved,  are  found  in  this  library  in  great- 
er abundance,  than  perhaps  in  any  library  be- 
longing to  an  individual  in  this  country.     In 
forming  this  library  Mr.  Jefferson  had  exercised 
11* 


118  LIBRARY  OF   CONGRESS. 

his  judgment,  no  doubt ;  but  much  of  the  most 
valuable  part  of  it  was  the  growth  of  the  times 
of  struggle  and  determination,  and  if  they  had 
not  been  gathered  then,  would  have  been  lost 
by  neglect,  and  they  could  not  now  be  called 
back  by  any  conjuration.     The  collections  in 
this  library  of  history,  general  politics,  statis- 
tics, and  scientific  works  and  classical  literature 
is  considerable  ;  the  deficiencies  of  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son's library,  have  been  supplied  by  the  appro- 
priations of  congress  for  the  library  department ; 
the  library  committee  are  members  of  congress 
of  a  high  literary  and  scientific  reputation,  and 
what  they  recommend  seldom  meets  with  any 
obstacle.  They  have  with  great  taste  and  judg- 
ment purchased  many  rare  works  of  great  value 
to  scholars,  as  also  many  of  high  taste  and  fash- 
ion for  those  who  have  only  time  to  indulge  the 
eye  upon  wire-wove  or  vellum  paper,  or  impe- 
rial bindings,  or  exquisite  engravings.    The  ex- 
penditure of  about  five  or  six  thousand  dollars  a 
year  is  a  trifle  for  the  government,  and  yet,  by 
this  appropriation,  in  twenty  years  this  will  be 
one  of  the  first  libraries  in  the  world  ;  as  it  now 
is,  it  probably  stands  the  fourth  in  this  country  ; 
but  there  are  several  of  the  minor  class  that  are 
at  present  nearly  equal  to  it,  in  point  of  numbers. 
There  is  a  very  respectable  library  belonging 
to  a  company  in  the  city.     It  contains  between 
five  and  six  thousand  volumes,  and  these  are 


LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS.  H9 

very  well  selected.  It  is  as  rich  in  American 
literature  as  any  miscellaneous  library  of  its 
size  in  the  United  States. 

This  library  is  increasing  under  judicious 
management,  and  promises  to  be  in  a  few  years 
an  extensive  concern. 

Each  branch  of  the  government  has  an  ac- 
cumulating library.     That  of  the  state  depart, 
ment  is  of  considerable  magnitude  ;   but  is  of 
very  little  value  at  present  to  any  one,  but  those 
in  its  immediate  neighbourhood.    This  is  not  as 
it  should  be  ;  the  library  of  the  state  department 
ought  to  be  kept  in  a  spacious  room,  fitted  with 
every  convenience  for  taking  notes  and  making 
extracts,  &c.     It  should  contain  all  the  Ameri- 
can works  to  be  found  in  the  book  market,  in 
proper  order  for  the  inspection  of  every  visitor 
properly  introduced.  The  sums  now  expended  on 
European  works  are  next  to  useless  here  ;  which 
under  proper  direction   would,  in   the  course 
of  a  few  years,  make  up  a  very  fine  collection 
of  American  books.   Of  the  current  publications 
there  are  a  considerable  number  of  volumes  de- 
posited in  that  office  by  the  laws  of  copy-right, 
and  in  addition  to  this  supply,  a  few  thousand 
of  dollars  annually  would  tell  well  in  increasing 
the  stock.     The  secretaries  of  state  have  gene- 
rally been  scholars,  and  it  is  therefore  surpri- 
sing that  this  library  should  not  be  found  in  a 
better  state,  one  we  mean  more  conducive  to 


120  COLUMBIAN  INSTITUTE. 

general  cunvenience  and  the  diffusion  of  infor- 
mation relating  to  our  own  country.  It  is  but 
justice  to  say  that  these  remarks  apply  to  the 
library  as  it  was  before  Mr.  Van  Beuren  came 
into  office.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  has  made 
some  reform  in  the  premises. 

The  Columbian  Institute  was  incorporated  in 
1819  ;  it  had  existeifor  some  time  before  this 
period  as  a  literary  and  scientific  society.  It 
was  founded  upon  a  noble  basis,  to  promote 
learning  in  all  the  various  branches  of  arts,  sci- 
ences, and  letters.  Its  members  are  resident, 
corresponding,  or  honourary.  Contributions  are 
exacted  of  the  resident  members,  of  papers  upon 
such  subjects  as  each  member  choses  to  write 
upon  ;  and  there  has,  from  time  to  time,  been  a 
good  deal  of  talent  exhibited.  These  papers  are 
kept  on  file,  and  will  be  useful  to  the  society 
hereafter.  Congress  has  granted  to  this  insti- 
tution the  use  of  several  acres  of  land  for  a  bo- 
tanic gorden  and  other  purposes.  By  the  libe- 
rality and  exertions  of  some  of  its  members  this 
garden  has  been  weli  laid  out,  and  many  of  the 
trees  and  shrubs  of  other  countries  have  been 
transplanted  and  nurtured  there.  This,  with  a 
little  of  that  liberality  that  congress  has  shown 
to  some  other  institutions  or  other  projects, 
would  flourish ;  for  there  are  several  literary 
and  scientific  men  who  would  spend  many  of 


COLUMBIAN  INSTITUTE.  121 

their  leisure  hours  in  the  botanic  department  of 
the  society  if  they  could  do  it  to  advantage. 

Congress  has  furnished  the  society  with  a 
convenient  room  under  the  library  of  congress 
where  the  collections  of  books,  minerals  and  cu- 
riosities are  deposited.  Resident  members  are, 
it  is  said  receiving  encouragement  from  corres- 
ponding members,  by  way  of  donations,  books, 
and  minerals,  and  works  from  their  own  pens  ; 
and  after  the  bustle  of  politics  is  over,  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  watchful  eye  of  the  scientific  and 
literary  part  of  congress  will  see  the  wants  of 
the  society,  and  that  the  liberal  part  will  be  dis- 
posed to  aid  in  giving  it  something  annually  to 
carry  on  their  useful  labours.  The  members 
are  most  certainly  labouring  for  the  good  of  the 
community  at  large,  not  for  themselves,  and 
therefore  deserve  encouragement.  It  has  talent 
sufficient  among  its  members  to  do  honour  to  the 
reputation  of  the  country  in  the.  literary  and  sci- 
entific world,  as  yet,  their  publications  have 
been  but  few,  but  those  are  of  a  high  order  and 
have  been  well  received  every  where.  The 
first  was  a  Eulogy  on  Mr.  Jefferson,  by  Mr. 
Harrison  Smith.  This  is  not  only  valuable  as  a 
composition,  but  it  is  more  so  as  arising  from  a 
particular  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Jefferson  who 
knew  him  in  the  ease  and  freedom  of  domestic 
life.  The  second  was  an  ample  memoir  of  John 
Adams  by  a  relation,  friend,  and  familiar  ac- 


122  COLUMBIAN  INSTITUTE. 

quaintance,  Judge  Cranch.  This  is  a  chaste, 
plain,  sensible  discourse  upon  the  merits  of  the 
great  patriot  of  the  east.  It  abounds  in  facts 
and  judicious  reflections,  and  will  be  a  valuable 
document  for  the  future  historian.  The  next 
was  of  a  more  general  character,  from  Mr. 
Southard,  the  secretary  of  the  navy.  The  gen- 
eral strain  of  the  orator  was  to  show  that  it  was 
the  duty  of  government  to  patronise  the  arts, 
and  sciences  in  this  country.  His  doctrines 
were  sound  and  most  manfully  enforced,  and 
should  have  made  a  deeper  impression  on  the 
national  legislature  than  we  fear  they  have. 
The  last  was  from  Mr.  Everett,  and  as  might  have 
been  expected  was  a  splendid  performance.  Line 
upon  line  and  precept  upon  precept,  are  still  want- 
ted  to  rouse  our  government  to  become  the  pa- 
tron of  letters,  the  arts  and  sciences  and  the 
friends  to  the  learned  men  of  the  country. 

The  society  in  the  summer  of  1827  met  with 
a  great  loss  in  the  death  of  Robert  Little,  who 
had  been  a  most  active  member.  He  was  a 
thorough  scholar,  a  zealous  promoter  of  letters 
and  sciences  and  deeply  engaged  in  the  welfare 
of  the  Columbian  Institute.  The  death  of  a  man 
of  virtue  and  good  sense  is  a  calamity  at  all 
times,  but  [the  loss  of  an  active,  intellectual 
member  of  an  infant  society  is  incalculable. 
Mr.  Little  was  an  ardent,  but  practical  man  and 
had  the  faculty  of  infusing  his  enthusiasm  into 


LITERATURE  OF  WASHINGTON.          123 

others  less  apt  to  kindle  than  himself.  He  was 
devising  liberal  things  for  the  Institute,  which, 
would  soon  have  been  carried  into  effect  if  he 
had  been  spared  a  short  time,  only,  to  have  ma- 
tured his  plans  and  made  a  communication  of 
them.  Foreigners  have  as  yet  a  right  to  smile 
at  this  government  for  their  neglect  of  learning 
but  we  trust  that  the  groves  of  the  academy  are 
growing  up  ;  that  the  Pierian  springs  are  gush- 
ing  from  the  hills,  and  that  the  muses  will  not 
forever  be  frightened  away  by  the  spasms  of 
party,  or  neglected  for  petty  electioneering  de- 
bates. 

MEN  in  office,  in  Washington,  have  been,  and 
are,  too  busy  to  make  books  ;  they  hardly  read 
them.  Some  of  the  different  documents  from 
the  several  Presidents,  and  members  of  the  suc- 
cessive cabinets,  are  works  of  great  merit,  of 
their  kind.  Among  the  most  conspicuous  of 
these  is  the  Report  of  Mr.  Adams,  when  he  was 
Secretary  of  State,  on  weights  and  measures. 
This  is  a  most  learned  Report,  and  is  creditable 
to  the  nation,  as  well  as  to  the  author.  The  first 
book,  giving  any  account  of  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia, was  written  by  Col.  Lear,  who  was  an 
aid  to  Washington,  and  afterward  Consul  to  Al- 
giers, &c.  This  book  is  now  out  of  print.  Since 
that  time,  several  descriptions  of  the  District,  and 
city,  have  been  given  by  residents,  travellers, 


124        LITERATURE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

and  all  sorts  of  people — some  of  them  full  of  er- 
rors and  absurdities.  The  best  accounts  were 
from  the  pen  of  the  librarian  of  Congress,  G. 
Watterson,  Esq.  and  much  careful  detail  may  be 
found  in  Elliot's  Washington  Guide.  Samuel 
Harrison  Smith,  Esq.  formerly  editor  and  pro- 
prietor  of  the  National  Intelligencer,  published 
a  history  of  a  session  of  Congress.  It  was  the 
session  of  1801.  The  volume  contained  190  pa- 
ges, and  gives  a  condensed  view  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  that  year. 

S.  Blodget,  finding  how  scanty  the  statistical 
information  was  in  the  country,  wrote  a  work 
upon  that  subject,  and  brought  his  calculations, 
conjectures,  data  and  results,  down  to  1806. 
Although  not  a  perfectly  accurate  book,  it  was 
a  good  one,  and  gave  a  good  deal  of  information 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  on  subjects 
they  did  not  know  much  about,  or  had  reasoned 
too  little  upon.  Mr.  Blodget  was  among  the 
first  settlers  in  Washington,  and  like  many  other 
sensible  men,  was  romantic  in  his  calculations 
on  the  probable  yearly  increase  of  the  population 
of  the  city. 

B.  Woodward  published  a  work  in  Washing- 
ton, on  the  substance  of  the  sun,  which  made 
some  noise  in  its  day. 

Mr.  Watterson,  we  have  before  mentioned, 
has  written  several  popular  and  useful  books — 
"  Letters  from  Washington ;"  "  Course  of  Stu- 


LITERATURE  OF  WASHINGTON.         125 

dy  ;"  "  L.  Family  ;"  "  Tabular  Statistics  of  the 
United  States,"  &c.  The  public  are  much  in. 
debted  to  him  for  much  useful  information,  con- 
veyed  in  a  good  style.  Some  of  the  sketches  of 
the  great  men,  in  and  about  Washington,  which 
are  to  be  found  in  his  works,  are  splendid  and 
original,  and  give  a  very  fair  view  of  their  cha- 
racter. 

The  public  are  much  indebted  to  a  lady  of 
Washington,  Mrs.  Harrison  Smith,  for  two  very 
clever  novels,  one  called  "  A  Winter  in  Wash- 
ington," the  other,  "  What  is  Gentility  ?"  The 
peculiar  habits  and  manners  of  the  fashionables, 
and  of  those  who  would  be  fashionables,  are  hit  off 
with  admirable  tact,  and  the  prevailing  follies  of 
the  society  of  the  District  exposed  and  satirized 
with  no  little  neatness.  The  latter  of  these 
books,  particularly,  should  be  read  by  those  who 
are  in  the  chrysalis  state,  and  whose  wings  and 
colours  are  growing. 

Dr.  Thomas  Ewell,  of  Georgetown,  published 
a  volume  of  Chemical  Discourses,  which  were 
well  received  ;  and  Dr.  J.  Ewell  has  published, 
in  Washington,  an  improved  edition  of  his  work, 
the  MEDICAL  COMPANION.  This  is  a  most  valu- 
able family  book.  It  contains,  in  an  attractive 
form,  many  useful  precepts,  directions,  and  reci- 
pes for  the  use  of  families  in  sickness  ;  and 
where  physicians  are  not  to  be  had  readily,  is 
invaluable. 
12 


126         LITERATURE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Thomas  Law,  Esq.,  has,  although  now  nearly 
an  octagenarian,  lately  published  a  book  upon 
currency.  He  is  a  man  of  no  ordinary  powers 
of  mind.  His  life  has  been  an  eventful  one.  In 
England,  his  native  country,  he  was  considered 
a  man  of  mind.  In  India  he  was  distinguished 
for  his  financial  talents,  and  was  a  great  bene- 
factor to  the  natives,  by  his  judicious  plans  for 
their  relief.  He  was  the  companion  of  Teign- 
mouth,  and  the  friend  of  Sir  William  Jones. 
Active  and  enterprising,  he  saw  the  accounts  of 
the  establishment  of  our  Federal  City,  and  he 
hastened  to  this  country  to  identify  himself  with 
its  growth,  from  the  corner  stone  to  the  setting  up 
the  gates  tliereof.  He  purchased  largely  of  the 
soil,  built  on  an  extensive  scale,  suggested  ten 
thousand  plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  city, 
and  for  the  prosperity  of  the  nation  ;  but  the 
slow,  doubtful,  and  often  strange  course  of  Con- 
gress,  came  not  only  in  his  way,  but  in  the  way 
of  all  those  deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
the  city  ;  and  he  has  spent  the  days  of  his  matu- 
rity and  wisdom  in  unavailing  efforts  for  the  im- 
provement of  it.  It  is  happy  for  him,  however, 
that  he  has  lived  to  see  the  dawn  of  a  better  day 
for  Washington  ;  and  if  he  cannot  stay  here  long 
to  enjoy  it,  as  a  good  man  he  will  rejoice  in  the 
hopes  of  his  friends  and  descendants.  If  his  diap- 
pointments  have  been  numerous,  yet  it  can  not 
be  said  that  they  have  soured  his  temper  or 


LITERATURE  OF  WASHINGTON.         127 

hardened  his  heart,  or  that  his  tenants  have  felt 
his  resentment,  because  he  was  deceived  by 
those  who  could  have  favoured  his  plans.  In  this 
world,  the  insults  received  from  those  above  us, 
are  often  repeated  by  those  below  us,  in  pitiful 
and  aggravated  forms. 

One  of  the  most  useful  books  printed  in 
Washington,  is  the  NATIONAL  CALENDAU,  by 
Peter  Force.  It  contains,  among  other  things, 
much  useful  information.  The  first  number  of 
this  work  contains  some  excellent  historical  re- 
marks  upon  the  District  of  Columbia  and  of  the 
city  of  Washington,  which  have  furnished  au- 
thentic matter  for  most  of  those  who  have  writ- 
ten any  thing  upon  the  subject  since. 

Gales  and  Seaton  have,  at  great  expense  and 
trouble,  printed  three  ponderous  volumes  ofcon- 
gressional  Debates.  They  have  not,  as  yet, 
been  paid  for  their  trouble.  This  is  truly  a  na- 
tional work  ;  and  for  the  fame  of  the  present 
race  of  politicians,  and  the  benefit  of  those  who 
come  after  them,  should  be  continued.  Indivi- 
duals,  however  enterprising,  cannot  afford  such 
expenditures  on  works  that  are  in  fact  rather 
printed  for  other  ages  than  our  own.  Gales  and 
Seaton  are  well  qualified,  in  all  respects,  to  give 
these  debates  to  the  public,  freed  from  party  bi- 
asses,  and  properly  pruned,  and  brought  down 
to  a  reasonable  length  ;  and  also  capable  of  se- 
parating the  chaff  from  the  wheat,  and  freeing 


128         LITERATURE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  reader  from  the  labour  of  getting  rid,  by  his 
own  mental  process,  of  all  the  crudities  of  legis- 
lation. 

There  are  several  bookstores  in  Washington, 
in  the  hands  of  business  men,  who  publish  many 
current  works,  and  are  usefully  engaged;  but  the 
most  important  establishment  in  the  city  is  P. 
Thompson's.  His  store  is  not  so  large,  per- 
haps, as  some  in  New- York,  Boston,  or  Philadel- 
phia ;  but,  for  rare  editions  of  valuable  works, 
in  many  languages,  is  not  surpassed  in  the  Uni- 
ted States.  It  contains  most  of  the  best  editions 
of  classical  works  to  be  found  in  Europe,  and 
also  many  works  of  great  taste  in  the  printing 
and  binding,  &c.  To  the  visiter,  this  bookstore 
is  what  bookstores  were  in  the  days  of  Johnson, 
and  Burke,  and  others,  a  reading  room  for  clas- 
sical gentlemen,  who  were  desirous  of  seeing 
more  than  they  were  able  to  buy.  The  propri- 
etor is  himself  a  gentleman  of  education,  and  is 
often  an  index,  and  learned  commentator  on 
his  most  profound  volumes,  when  the  examiner 
wishes  for,  and  needs  a  guide,  which  is  often  the 
case  in  this  country,  where  scholarship  is  not  a 
profession,  except  with  a  few.  The  writer  for 
one,  among  many,  has  to  acknowledge  his  po- 
lite attention  and  valuable  assistance  in  frequent 
examinations  of  matters  out  of  the  common  path 
of  literary  intelligence* 


PERIODICALS.  129 

The  city  has  not  been  wanting  in  newspa- 
pers  since  its  first  establishment.  The  National, 
Intelligencer  was  commenced  in  1800,  when  the 
city  was  actually  made  the  seat  of  government, 
for  thirteen  years  it  was  published  three  times  a 
week,  and  since  that  time  it  has  been  a  daily 
paper.  During  the  first  of  its  years,  there  was 
a  weekly  paper  connected  with  it,  and  growing 
out  of  it,  called  the  United  States  Gazette.  - 
Since  it  has  been  published  daily  there  has  been 
a  tri-weekly  paper  for  the  country,  bearing  the 
same  name,  and  containing  all  the  best  matter 
of  the  daily,  without  the  advertisements  or  other 
mere  city  concerns.  It  has  a  most  extensive  cir- 
culation through  every  part  of  the  Union. 

THE  Weekly  Register  was  first  published  in 
1807,  and  in  1808  changed  its  name  to  the 
Washington  Monitor.  It  was  edited  by  Mr. 
John  Colvin,  whose  life  was  passed  mostly  in 
literary  labours  in  Washington.  He  was  a  man 
of  abilities,  and  some  of  his  writings  show  supe- 
rior acquirements. 

In  1809,  Dinmore  and  Cooper  published  the 
Washington  Expositor. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war,  in  1812, 
the  Washington  City  Gazette  was  published  by 
William  Elliot. 

The  Hive  by  Mr.  Lewis. 

*  _  i 

The  Senator  by  Mr.  Cummings. 
In  1823  the  National  Journal  was  got  up  and 
12* 


130  PERIODICALS. 

published  twice  a  week.  The  next  it  was  a  tri- 
weekly paper  ;  but  in  a  short  time  become  a 
daily,  and  has  continued  so  ever  since. 

From  1822  to  1824  the  Washington  Republi. 
can  was  in  existence.  This  was  ably  conducted, 
but  it  was  at  length  absorbed  in  the  Journal. 

In  1824  The  Telegraph  was  established,  and 
within  a  few  years  was  purchased  by  Duff  Green, 
who  conducts  it  now.  This  is  an  extensively 
circulated  paper. 

A  short  time  since  there  was  a  religious  pa- 
per coming  out  once  a  week,  called  the  Colum- 
bian Star,  which  has  since  been  transferred  to 
Philadelphia.  It  was  rather  a  religious  than  a 
political  paper,  and  was  edited  with  a  brisk  reli- 
gious spirit,  but  had  no  offensive  sectarian  cast. 

John  Colvin,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  com- 
menced his  Weekly  Messenger  which  publica- 
tion his  wife  conducted  for  several  years  after 
his  death. 

A  periodical  called  the  Theological  Reposi- 
tory was  kept  up  a  while  by  the  contributions 
of  the  clergy. 

The  Columbian  Register  is  a  religious  pa- 
per,  has  been  published  in  this  city  for  nearly 
two  years  and  is  still  continued.  It  is  a  religious 
paper  of  a  very  tolerant  spirit. 

A  literary  paper  has  lately  been  got  up  here, 
called  the  Washington  City  Chronicle  which 


PERIODICALS.  131 

promises  fair  to  be  a  valuable  repository  of  use- 
ful  knowledge. 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  make  some  remarks 
upon  the  talents  displayed  in  the  several  works 
we  have  mentioned,  but  in  most  cases  it  is  too 
late  to  censure,  and  it  would  do  no  good  to  com- 
mend ;  for  most  of  the  writers  in  them  have  pas- 
sed away  where  praise  and  blame  are  equal, 
and  it  is  never  safe  to  cause  the  ghost  of  a  poli- 
tician to  come  up  ;  for  their  graves,  like  the  wiz- 
zard,  Michael  Scott's,  are  full  of  strange  things. 
No  one,  who  wishes  to  amuse,  or  arouse  the  peo- 
ple, must  look  back  on  matters  not  easily  ex- 
plained, and  perhaps  not  worth  knowing,  if  they 
could  be  known.  Most  things  bear  the  stamp 
of  the  hour,  and  all  that  belongs  to  that  hour,  is 
not  easily  recalled.  Every  passing  day  has  its 
signet,  but  the  impression  is  often  too  faint  to 
be  retained  on  the  memory.  The  life  of  a  politi- 
cian resembles  that  of  a  feeder  at  an  ordinary  of 
a  hotel ;  he  sees  one  after  another  go  away,  un- 
til his  lurn  comes  to  depart  also  ;  such  is  the 
career,  and  the  impression  of  one  who  takes  an 
active  part  in  the  affairs  of  men* 


LETTER  XIV. 


Washington,  -,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, 

THE  AMERICAN  COLONIZATION  SOCIETY 
was  established  in  this  city  about  thirteen  years 
since,  and  at  once  engaged  the  attention  of  some 
of  the  first  men  in  the  country,  in  the  slave-hold- 
ing  states,  as  well  as  in  the  non-slave-holding 
states.     The  great  objects  of  this  society  were 
to  found  a  colony  in  Africa  of  the  free  people  of 
colour  of  the  United  States ;  that  in  process  of 
time  a  place  might  be  prepared  for  the  surplus 
population  of  the  blacks,  and  to  extend  the  bles- 
sing of  civilization  and  religion  into  the  interior 
of  Africa.    If  the  maxim  "  Finis  origine  pendit," 
is  to  hold  as  in  any  measure  true,  this  society 
cannot  fail  of  success.     They  were  fortunate  in 
their  late  agent  Mr.  Ashman  ;  he  was  a  soldier, 
a  politician,  a  judge,  and  a  divine  ;  he  pursued  his 
own  plan,  with  that  which  was  marked  for  him, 
with  the  romantic  spirit  of  a  crusader  and  the 
zeal  of  a  martyr,  to  which  glory  he  at  length  ar- 


COLONIZATION  SOCIETY.  133 

rived.  They  have  been  fortunate  loo  in  their 
secretary  and  principal  agent  in  Washington, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Gourley  ;  who,  with  those  acquire- 
ments, talents,  and  attractive  virtues  that  would 
make  him  eminent  in  his  profession,  has  left  his 
high  calling,  and  given  up  the  pulpit,  to  labour 
in  this  cause,  which  neither  promises  worldly 
interests  or  glory.  Thirteen  annual  roports  are 
already  before  the  public,  and  abound  in  interest 
both  in  manner  and  fact.  The  colony  planted 
in  Africa  has  had  much  to  struggle  with,  but  has 
succeeded  beyond  the  expectation  of  many  of  its 
wisest  founders,  who  were  well  aware  of  the  dif- 
ficulties of  the  undertaking.  No  event  since  the 
adoption  of  the  Federal  constitution  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Bible  Societies,  has  called 
forth  more  mind  or  eloquence  than  the  welfare 
of  this  society.  There  are  already  twelve  state 
Colonization  Societies  in  the  Union,  and  others 
are  forming.  These  are  under  the  direction  of 
the  men  most  distinguished  for  talents  and  vir- 
tues in  their  several  states.  In  addition  to  these 
there  are  already  established,  and  most  of  them 
in  a  flourishing  condition,  about  one  hundred  aux- 
iliary societies  scattered  throughout  the  coun- 
try. The  whole  will  constitute  a  moral  engine 
whose  power  must  be  felt  at  home  and  abroad. 
God  speed  them.  If  he  does  not  prosper  this  plan, 
or  some  other,  I  know  not  what  evils  a  century 
may  produce. 


134  COLONIZATION  SOCIETY. 

The  subject  of  slavery  with  this  nation  is,  the 
dead  fly  in  the  ointment.  The  non- slave  holding 
states  approach  the  subject  with  great  reluctance, 
for  the  Harry  Percys  of  the  south  start  up  with 
rage  at  the  slightest  allusion  to  it ;  but  it  is  ne- 
cessary that  the  subject  should  be  fairly  and 
openly  discussed,  and  the  extent  of  the  evil  un- 
derstood, not  only  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  pre- 
sent generation,  but  that  this  age  may  devise 
some  means  to  protect  future  ages  from  the 
overwhelming  growth  of  this  evil.  The  non- 
slave-holding  states  had  many  errors  of  opinion 
to  correct.  Their  impressions  of  cruelty  of  the 
masters  of  slaves  are  quite  imaginary.  From 
no  slight  acquaintance  with  the  subject,  I  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  that  in  general,  the  slaves 
are  well  treated.  The  subject  of  slavery  was 
incidentally  discussed  in  the  nineteenth  con- 
gress, occasioned  by  a  member  of  the  House 
from  the  state  of  New- York,  having  offered  a 
resolution  to  inquire  into  the  case  of  a  free 
black,  who  had  been  confined  in  the  jail  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  as  a  runaway  negro,  and 
who  was  at  length  sold  as  a  slave  for  cost  and 
charges.  The  state  of  New-York  was  in  a  fer- 
ment on  this  subject,  and  the  honourable  mem- 
ber offering  the  resolution  had  partaken  deeply 
of  the  excitement.  The  speech  made  by  Col. 
Ward  in  support  of  this  resolution  was  spirited 
and  eloquent.  He  recounted,  in  most  animated 


COLONIZATION  SOCIETY.  135 

language,  the  circumstances  of  the  case  and  in- 
sisted  upon  some  security  for  the  Africans  of  his 
state,  who  should  chance  to  pass  into  anoth- 
er that  might  be  a  slave-holding  one.  The 
South  Carolinians,  and  Georgians  were  most  fu- 
rious in  the  debate,  but  the  ferment  lasted  only 
for  a  short  time.  The  next  congress  the  same 
gentleman  presented  some  petition  from  his  con- 
stituents touching  upon  the  same  subject,  the 
storm  was  up  again,  and  he  defended  the  peti- 
tition  with  his  usual  zeal  and  ability,  but  there 
the  matter  rested.  Col.  Ward  did  all  an  able 
member  should  or  could  have  done.  If  these 
colonization  societies  are  kept  alive  with  the 
spirit  that  has  been  shown  in  them,  in  times  past, 
I  firmly  believe  that,  by  the  smiles  of  Provi- 
dence, the  blessing  of  liberty  will,  in  no  distant 
day,  cheer  even  the  sun-stricken  African  on  his 
native  shores.  That  the  race  will  not  only  be 
free,  but  enjoy  their  freedom  accompanied  by 
all  the  arts  of  civil  life,  and  those  institutions 
which  will  secure  them  to  the  Christian  family 
for  ever.  The  thought  is  an  animating  one  and 
should  arouse  the  liberal  and  the  philanthropic 
throughout  this  great  country  to  come  to  the 
work  most  heartily,  with  purse,  pen,  and  tongue, 
which  when  united  seldom  fail  of  success.  The 
most  enlightened  portion  of  the  blacks  have  a 
just  view  of  their  own  situation,  and  are  anxious 
to  prevent  any  spasmodic  exertions  for  their 


136  CLERGY. 

emancipation.  At  the  time  every  African  heart 
was  overflowing  with  gratitude  to  Col.  Ward  for 
his  bold  and  philanthropic  exertions  in  their 
cause,  I  heard  one  of  their  preachers  in  the 
pulpit,  at  Washington,  make  a  most  judicious 
speech  upon  the  subject.  It  was  full  of  politi- 
cal wisdom  and  Christian  feelings;  it  inculcated 
thankfulness  to  friends  and  forgiveness  to  ene- 
mies, and  it  was  accompanied  by  a  prophecy 
that  the  time  was  approaching  for  their  libera- 
tion. He  saw  in  the  spirit  of  the  thousand  in- 
«titutions  of  charity  and  benevolence  which 
abounded  in  the  world,  the  political  redemption 
of  his  race.  The  speech  of  the  good,  and  intel- 
ligent member  of  congress,  he  said,  was  only  a 
part  of  that,  which  in  a  few  ages  should  be  on 
every  patriot's  tongue  ;  and  freely  remarked  to 
his  hearers,  that,  if  they  were  religious,  and 
prayerful,  God  would  hasten  the  day  of  this  de- 
liverance. 

CLERGY. — The  religious  denominations  are  as 
numerous  in  Washington,  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  inhabitants,  as  in  any  other  place  in  our 
country ;  but  if  there  is  no  great  harmony  among 
them,  there  is  no  discord.  Each  pursues  his 
own  course,  and  preaches  his  own  doctrines,  un- 
molested by  controversy  or  opponents.  Con- 
gress protects  all,  and  cherishes  none.  They 
have  a  fair  field  for  the  display  of  their  talents, 


THE  CLERGY.  137 

in  any  form  of  Christian  doctrine.  There  is,  or 
rather  has  been,  some  opposition  to  the  Unita- 
rians ;  but  that  is  nearly  over ;  and  the  other 
denominations  are  learning  a  lesson  from  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Mathews,  of  the  Catholic  faith,  to  do 
good,  walk  humbly,  and  love  mercy,  and  live  in 
unity  with  all  mankind.  The  clergymen  of 
Washington,  as  a  body,  have  as  good  a  share  of 
talents  as  those  of  other  cities,  and  the  religious 
character  of  the  people  stands  as  high.  Consi- 
dering that  the  city  is  a  thoroughfare,  it  is  as- 
tonishing that  there  is  no  more  fanaticism  preva- 
lent here.  A  learned,  pious,  evangelical  body 
of  divines,  is  the  greatest  blessing  to  any  place, 
in  a  free  country,  that  can  be  imagined.  The 
pulpit  with  them  is  a  High  School,  in  which,  in 
addition  to  a  common  code  of  ethics,  the  great 
doctrines  of  divinity  are  taught,  the  precepts  of 
salvation  are  explained,  and  heaven  brought 
down  to  earth.  Whatever  there  is  deep  in  phi. 
losophy,  beautiful  in  morals,  charming  in  litera- 
ture, or  sweet  in  affection,  are  made  familiar  to 
man  by  the  zeal  and  learning  of  the  pulpit.  It 
brings  man  to  a  familiarity  with  his  Maker,  and 
takes  away  his  enmities  to  his  fellow  men  ;  it 
gives  a  high  zest  to  life  in  the  hopes  of  futurity, 
and  takes  away  the  darkness  and  horror  from 
the  grave,  and  the  sting  from  death,  by  the  light 
it  gathers  and  sheds  from  the  Gospel.  This 
country  has  been  advanced  half  a  century  in  its 
13 


138  THE  JUDICIARY. 

intelligence  by  the  pulpit,  notwithstanding  that 
much  time  and  breath  has  been  wasted  in  idle 
disputes,  and  frivolous  distinctions,  in  points  that 
were  nugatory,  or  in  commentaries  that  were 
absurd. 

The  Bar  of  the  District  of  Columbia  is  nume- 
rous, for  the  population  and  business  ;  but  it  is 
certainly  respectable  in  point  of  talents  and 
learning  :  but  there  does  not  appear  to  be  that 
esprit  du  corps  among  them,  as  exists  in  some 
parts  of  our  country,  among  the  gentlemen  of 
the  bar ;  but  they  are  gentlemanly  and  courte- 
ous towards  each  other.  Men,  similarly  edu- 
cated, are  alike  in  every  part  of  the  world.  If 
law  be  a  science,  it  is  only  the  science  of  bring- 
ing particular  cases  under  fixed  and  settled 
rules.  Morals  change  with  every  age,  and 
opinions  fluctuate  with  every  hour,  and  old 
enactments  give  place  to  new  ;  but  that  sagacity 
which  brings  all  the  powers  of  the  mind  to  the 
standard  set  up,  whatever  it  may  be,  makes  the 
good  lawyer,  whether  the  possessor  be  in  Tur- 
key or  in  the  United  States. 

Congress  has  made  a  very  good  judiciary 
system  for  the  District  of  Columbia.  A  Dis- 
trict Court  has  been  established  here,  upon  the 
same  principles  as  those  of  other  districts  in  the 
United  States.  This  bench  is  filled  by  Judge 


MEDICAL  SCHOOL.  139 

Cranch  ;  whose  talents,  learning,  patience,  and 
integrity,  are  well  known  to  all  who  have  the 
honour  to  know  him. 

There  is  also  a  Circuit  Court  for  the  District 
of  Columbia,  which  is  held  four  times  a  year. 
Judge  Cranch  is  Chief  Justice  of  this  Court ; 
Judges  Thurston  and  Morsel],  are  assistant  Jus- 
tices. This  court  find  some  little  inconvenience, 
at  times,  from  the  singular  fact,  that  what  is  law 
in  one  part  of  their  jurisdiction,  is  not  law  in 
another ;  the  statutes  of  Virginia,  and  in  like 
manner  those  of  Maryland,  being  still  in  force  in 
those  parts  of  the  District  which  formerly  be- 
longed to  those  states  ;  and  in  the  growth  of 
these  states,  there  is  no  proof  that  they  were 
ever  so  kind  as  to  copy  much  from  each  other. 

The  professors  of  the  healing  art  are  nume- 
rous and  highly  respectable  in  Washington. 
Most  of  them  are  men  of  good  education,  and 
not  a  few  of  them  have  seen  considerable  prac- 
tice before  they  came  to  this  city.  Some  of 
them  have  served  in  the  army  or  navy,  and  oth- 
ers were  educated  abroad,  or  in  the  first  schools 
in  this  country.  They  deserve  much  credit  for 
getting  up  a  medical  school,  which  has  been  in 
operation  but  a  few  years  only  ;  but  the  lectures 
delivered  here,  in  the  dilferent  departments,  are 
of  a  high  order,  and  have  been  delivered  with- 
out any  of  that  quackery,  that  struggles  for  ef- 


140  ORPHAN  ASYLUM. 

feet ;  and  (hat  produced,  thinks  of  nothing  else. 
The  graduates  are  well  instructed ;  and  if,  as 
yet,  are  not  numerous,  have  been  respectable 
for  acquirements.  It  is  connected  with  Colum- 
bia College,  and  is  composed  of  a  Dean  and 
Faculty,  made  up  of  professors  in  such  branches 
as  are  generally  taught  in  silch  an  institution. 

The  Washington  City  Orphan  Assylum  was 
got  up  by  certain  charitable  ladies  of  distinction 
and  worth  in  this  city.  With  indefatigable  la- 
bour  and  persevering  exertion,  they  have  laid 
the  foundation  of  an  excellent  seminary,  as  well 
as  an  asylum  for  those  helpless  infants  that  have 
been  deprived  of  their  parents.  It  is  not  con- 
fined to  one  sex,  but  is  intended  to  exercise  cha- 
rity on  a  broad  scale.  A  lady  of  property,  Mrs. 
Van  Ness,  gave  the  corporation  a  lot  of  ground, 
in  a  pleasant  and  central  situation,  in  Tenth 
Street ;  and  on  it  the  association  have  erected  a 
suitable  building  for  their  kind  purposes.  The 
corner  stone  of  this  edifice  was  laid  in  the  sum- 
mer  of  1828,  with  solemn  and  impressive  cere- 
monies, accompanied  with  the  orphan's  prayer, 
and  the  good  man's  benison.  These  asylums 
have,  after  the  fashion  of  this  hospitable  and  in- 
dustrious age,  taxed  the  ladies  of  this  city  with 
making  articles  of  taste  and  fancy,  which  when 
mingled  with  other  articles  purchased  for  the 
occasion,  are  exposed  at  a  Fair,  and  the  sums 


ORPHAN  ASYLUM.  141 

realized  from  the  sales  are  directed  to  the  benefit 
of  the  institution.  The  Sisters  Of  Charity  have 
their  fairs  also. 

Every  age  has  something  or  other,  for  good 
or  evil,  to  mark  its  existence.  The  brightest 
constellation  of  this  age  of  improvement  is  its 
charities.  They  grow  up  in  every  society,  they 
extend  to  every  climate,  and  thus  reach  all 
mankind. 

There  has  been  established,  by  the  Catholics 
in  this  city,  for  several  years  past,  an  institution 
of  charity  for  orphan  females  ;  and  'connected 
with  it  a  primary  school  for  day  scholars.  This 
is  a  most  excellent  institution,  under  the  care 
of  intelligent  Sisters,  whose  vows  extend  to  a 
devotion  of  their  time,  that  can  be  spared  from 
their  religious  exercises,  to  the  educating  of  the 
infant,  female  mind  in  religious  duties  and  useful 
knowledge.  This  delightful,  but  onerous  task, 
is  performed  with  true  zeal,  and  untiring  con. 
stancy,  by  those  Sisters  whose  sole  business  is 
to  do  good,  and  wish  well  to  mankind.  The 
school  is  an  admirable  one  ;  each  Sister  has  her 
branch  of  studies  to  attend  to  in  these  schools, 
and  is  not  directed  to  others,  but  pursues  that 
until  teaching  in  it  is  easy  and  familiar.  Their 
buildings  are  convenient,  their  grounds  are  laid 
out  with  taste,  and  every  arrangement  unites 
judgment,  economy,  cleanliness  and  industry  ; 
and,  in  fact,  all  the  household  virtues  are  con. 
13* 


142  TYBER  CREEK. 

slant  handmaids  of  religion  with  the  Sisters  of 
CHARITY.  These  schools  are  every  day  becom- 
ing more  justly  appreciated,  and  the  knowledge 
of  their  merits  more  fully  developed.  It  would 
be  agreeable  to  the  writer  to  enter  into  some  of 
the  minute  facts  relating  to  this  institution,  in 
which  there  are  no  pecuniary  views,  no  particle 
of  worldly  ambition,  none  of  the  pride  that  seeks 
for  praise  only.  They  are  ambitious  only  as 
far  as  their  fame  may  benefit  the  houseless  child 
of  want,  whose  yearnings  have  elicited  their 
pity,  and  whose  cries  have  gone  up  to  heaven 
for  succour.  The  charities  of  this  age  are  not 
confined  to  males  or  females  ;  they  belong  to  the 
warrior  in  the  day  of  his  glory,  and  to  the  female 
in  the  hour  of  her  beauty  and  dominion ;  they 
preserve  the  peaceful  walks  in  the  feuds  of 
party  strife,  and  in  the  change  of  political  pow- 
er. Sectarians  and  oppositionists  are  all  ac- 
tive in  extending  the  influences  of  charity ;  and 
if  she  is  made,  by  those  of  limited  knowlege, 
and  of  narrow  views  of  man,  accessary  to  bigot- 
ed notions,  and  persecuting  zeal,  this  is  only 
accidental  and  short-lived,  or  occasional,  while 
the  great  acts  she  is  called  to  perform,  in  every 
country,  are,  as  a  whole,  pure,  lofty,  and  noble. 

I  cannot  pass  over  the  Tyber  without  saying 
one  word  of  that  pleasant  little  stream. 


TYBER  CREEK.  143 

"AND  WHAT  WAS  GOOSE  CREEK  ONCE,  is 
TVTBER  NOW,"  was  wittily  said,  and  ought  not  to 
to  excite  the  indignation  of  our  countrymen  as 
much  as  it  has  done  against  the  English  Ana- 
creon  ;  for  our  part  we  will  forgive  him  this 
splenetic  remark  and  all  the  other  vituperations 
he  was  guilty  of,  save  and  except  his  attack  on 
Washington  himself,  for  the  pleasure  he  has  af- 
forded us  in  his  exquisite  poetry  since  ;  and  we 
can  easily  believe  that  he  who  wrote  SACRED 
MELODIES  to  atone  for  writing  amorous  ditties, 
has,  in  his  heart,  repented  for  his  sins  in  attack- 
ing the  greatest  patriot  of  all  times.  It  falls  out 
that  if  there  is  satire  in  the  line,  there  was  not 
much  truth  in  it.  The  name  of  the  stream  was 
not  changed  by  way  of  making  great  things  out 
of  little,  from  Goose  Creek  to  Tyber ;  Goose 
Creek  belongs  to  the  vulgate  of  the  boys,  who 
sailed  boats,  and  shot  ducks  in  the  stream ;  but 
the  old  deeds  of  more  than  a  century  ago  call  it 
by  the  name  of  Tyber  Creek.  It  is  said  that  a 
landholder  who  lived  on  what  is  now  called  Cap. 
itol  Hill,  finding  the  strong  resemblance  in  the 
natural  panorama  of  the  surrounding  country, 
named  his  little  territory  Rome,  and  the  brook' at 
the  foot  of  the  hill  Tyber ;  but  this  little  brook 
may  be  of  more  importance  to  mankind  than  that 
Tyber  which  "  flows  fast  by  the  Eternal  City" 
For  this  pure  little  stream,  when  other  streams 
shall  "  mourn  their  fountains  dry"  may  be  con- 


144      MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 

veyed  in  abundance  to  every  part  of  the  city,  to 
refresh  and  adorn  it,  when  the  malaria  has 
made  Rome  a  desert. 

THE  manners  and  customs  of  Washington 
demand  a  moments  attention  : 

I  have  already  in  the  historial  sketch  of  the 
city,  glanced  at  the  general  character  of  the  in- 
habitants, but  it  may  be  well  to  speak  of  them 
more  distinctly,  as  they  are  often  either  igno- 
rantly  or  wilfully  misrepresented  ;  sometimes, 
indeed,  caricatured  by  those  who  imagine  they 
are  praising  them.  And  it  must  also  be  remem- 
bered that  their  general  character  must  be  eve- 
ry day  changing,  from  the  increase  of  popula- 
tion, and  the  great  influx  of  strangers  ;  who, 
finding  now  what  could  not  have  been  offered 
them  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  history  of  the 
city,  comfortable  quarters,  and  good  fare,  are 
willing  to  make  longer  visits,  and  become 
more  more  acquainted  with  the  manners  and 
habits  of  the  citizens  of  Washington.  The 
amiable  and  scholar-like  Warden,  now  resident 
in  Paris,  who  has  written  in  a  distant  land  a 
good  history  of  this  country,  gave,  about  thirteen 
years  ago,  a  lively  description  of  all  he  saw  wor- 
thy of  record  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  hav- 
ing spent  the  summer  here  ;  but  many  things 
have  altered  since  that  time,  and  what  was  then 
as  much  as  could  honestly  be  said  of  them,  must 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  145 

fall  shorf  of  the  truth  now.  He  seemed  to  feel 
alarmed  for  the  society  of  the  city,  in  contempla- 
ting the  number  of  beauties  married  from  the 
circles  of  fashion,  by  the  members  of  congress, 
from  time  to  time.  This  laudable  custom  still 
continues  ;  but  there  are  no  complaints  of  it  as  an 
evil,  at  present ;  in  fact,  the  dread  of  it  as  such, 
could  only  have  existed  in  a  bachelor's  brain  ; 
and  if  he  had  thought  as  much  of  the  doctrine 
of  political  economy,  as  of  his  affectionate  gal- 
lantry, he  would  soon  have  discovered  that  the 
supply  is  increased  by  the  briskness  of  the  de- 
mand." The  manners  of  a  people  are  at  all 
times  affected  by  the  greater  or  lesser  impor- 
tance they  attach  to  themselves  ;  particularly 
when  this  self  esteem  is  made  up  in  a  consider- 
able degree  of  the  space  they  may  fill  in  the 
public  consideration.  The  people  of  Washing- 
ton know  that  whatever  transpires  in  the  city, 
of  a  public  nature,  is  a  matter  of  deep  interest 
to  the  rest  of  the  nation.  In  such  a  place,  the 
affairs  of  government  are  constantly  discussed. 
The  movements  of  the  executive  and  the  doings 
of  the  legislature  are  instantly  known  to  all, 
and  commented  upon  by  all  classes.  The  in- 
terest, however,  which  may  be  felt  is  not  pre- 
cisely in  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  the  sub- 
ject ;  but  oftener  according  to  the  bearing  it 
may  have  on  themselves.  The  appointment  o-f 
a  minister,  or  the  recall  of  one,  or  of  a  judge  of 


J46      MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 

the  Supreme  Court,  or  the  rapid  advancement  of 
a  naval  or  military  officer,  great  things  in  them- 
selves,  because  they  are  important  to  the  coun- 
try, make  up  only  an  item  in  the  mass  of  daily 
information ;  but  the  removal,  or  appointment 
of  a  clerk,  or  auditor,  or  any  head  of  a  Bureau,  is 
an  affair  directly  within  their  vision,  and  comes 
home  to  their  business,  and  bosoms.  But  all 
these  things,  however  pleasant  or  painful  they 
may  be  for  the  moment,  are  hardly  remembered 
a  day,  and  certainly  are  forgotten  in  a  few 
weeks,  in  the  quid  nunc  appetite  of  a  free  peo- 
ple. These  changes  produce  a  sort  of  mercu- 
rial disposition  in  a  population  ;  which  may,  and 
in  fact  does,  tend  more  to  their  happiness  than 
that  apathetical  character  which  despotic  govern- 
ments give  to  a  people.  Politics  are  all-absorb- 
ing topics  of  this  republic.  More  time  is  cer- 
tainly taken  up  than  necessary  ;  but  still  a  good- 
ly share  of  our  time,  and  many  exertions  are  ne- 
cessary to  keep  the  lamp  of  knowledge  and  the 
torch  of  liberty  in  pure  and  regular  burning,  and 
to  save  it  from  being  deadened  by  the  chills  of 
indifference,  or  blown  out  by  the  fierce  storms 
of  faction.  Restlessness,  anxiety,  and  the  sick- 
ness and  fever  of  party  feuds,  is  the  tax  that  in- 
telligence has  had,  in  every  age,  to  pay  for  free- 
dom ;  it  was  never  sustained  without  it.  The 
men  of  Athens,  it  is  said,  spent  more  than  a 
fourth  part  of  their  time  in  politics.  In  Rome, 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.      147 

the  busy  tribunes  kept  the  people  awake  to  their 
interests,  and  jealous  of  patrician  power.     The 
struggles  between  the  nobles  of  Venice  and  the 
merchants,  kept  the  whole  population  involved 
in  endless  disputes.     In  England,  for  centuries, 
public  attention  has   been  exerted,  and  great 
struggles  made  for   public  and  private  rights. 
The  history  of  this  country  is  a  history  of  po- 
litical discussions,  and  perpetual  struggles  for 
liberty.     The  people  have,  from  the  first  settle, 
ment  of  the  country,  devoted  more  than  a  quar- 
ter part  of  their  time  in  learning  their  rights  and 
in  defending  them,  and  in  building  up  their  in- 
stitutions.    All,  from  twenty  years  of  age  to  the 
grave,  in  any  change  of  years  or  situation  in 
life,  are  daily  engaged,  among  other  things,  in 
politics.     Washington  is  the  centre  of  all  this 
bustle,  the  very  ear  of  Dionysius,  in  which  every 
remote    whisper  is   reverberated.     The   com- 
plaints of  the  great  and  the  little  are  all  heard 
here  ;  the  feeble,  who  mutter,  but  dare  not  speak 
aloud  ;  the  bold,  who  rave  in  their  disappoint- 
ments, and  invoke  the  curses  of  the  upper  and 
the  nether  world,  are  also  heard.     The  peo- 
ple of  this  city  have  the  finest  opportunity  of  be- 
coming acquainted  with  the  talents  and  charac- 
ters of  the  prominent  men  in  the  country.    They 
see  at  every  touch  and  turn  the  obsequious  min- 
ion, with  his  simperings  and  flatteries,  and  the 
consequential   patron,  bloated   with    "  a  little 


148     MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 

brief  authority."  They  not  only  see,  but  read, 
and  read  pretty  thoroughly  too,  the  true  cha- 
racter of  men  in  power.  It  falls  to  their  lot 
often  to  see  men  one  day  surrounded  by  secre- 
taries, foreign  ministers,  and  a  bowing  crowd  ; 
who,  on  the  next,  pass  off  to  private  life,  without 
a  farewell  salutation  ;  and  another  set  arrive, 
who  bustle  through  their  reign,  and  then  sleep, 
either  living  or  dead,  with  their  predecessors. 
This  proves  the  force  and  majesty  there  is  in 
the  people  ;  but  it  lessens  the  importance  of  the 
individuals.  To  the  great  politicians  of  former 
ages,  such  a  'government,  had  it  been  truly 
sketched,  would  have  justly  been  classed  among 
the  wildest  fictions  ever  created  ;  but  its  perpe- 
tuity is  a  problem,  the  most  timid  need  not  fear 
a  solution  of.  The  intelligence  of  the  commu- 
nity may  safely  be  trusted  in  modelling  a  new, 
or  repairing  the  defects  of  any  form  of  govern- 
ment. There  is  no  virtue  or  spell  in  any  form 
of  a  constitution.  The  whole  political  safety,  in 
a  republic,  consists  in  the  purity  and  in  the 
soundness  of  the  great  body  politic. 

The  literary  taste  cf  the  inhabitants  now  does 
them  credit,  and  it  is  every  day  growing  better. 
The  visiters  find  but  little  time  to  devote  to 
reading,  and  their  previous  acquirements  are 
sufficient  for  all  the  demands  of  the  occasion  ; 
and  to  the  honour  of  the  country,  I  speak  of  the 
ladies  more  particularly,  these  are  sufficient 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  H9 

for  their  purpose.  In  some  of  the  prettiest,  a 
close  observer  will  see  the  lisp  or  drawl  of  the 
drawing  room  conversation,  which  is  only  a 
manner  put  on  for  the  time.  In  the  moments 
of  intoxicated  vanity  from  admiration  and  flat- 
tery, even  the  political  philosopher  looks  wise 
and  straightens  up  ;  and  can  youth  and  beauty 
be  expected  to  be  more  firm  or  insensible  ?  The 
diplomatic  corps  at  Washington  have  not,  in  for- 
mer years,  done  much  either  to  enrich,  embel- 
lish, or  enlighten  the  city.  Those  who  have 
been  sent  here  in  former  times,  have,  with  some 
honourable  exceptions,  been  of  a  secondary  or- 
der of  diplomatists,  with  their  equipage  and  par- 
ties, and  after  making  a  dash,  have  hardly  been 
heard  of  again.  Many  of  them,  no  doubt,  were 
men  of  talents  ;  but  there  was  no  opportunity  of 
displaying  their  intellectual  powers  here.  The 
corps  are  now,  however,  very  respectable.  The 
English  minister  is  a  scholar  and  a  gentleman. 
The  French  minister,  I  make  no  distinction  in 
their  different  ranks,  is  said  to  be  a  man  of  cour- 
tesy and  learning  ;  and  those  from  Netherlands, 
Holland,  and  Russia,  are  thought  to  be  men  of 
fine  manners  and  high  intelligence.  South 
America,  in  her  -infancy,  has  sent  us  a  good 
share  of  talents  ;  men  of  the  most  inquisitive 
minds,  who  are  indefatigable  in  studying  the  po- 
litical institutions  of  this  country,  and  in  making 
themselves  acquainted  with  the  manners  and 
14 


150       MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 

customs  of  it.  This  remark  is  not  confined  to 
the  representatives  of  the  new  republics  alone  ; 
for  no  man  in  Washington  was  more  respected 
and  loved  for  his  amenity,  frankness,  integrity, 
talents,  and  patriotism,  than  the  late  Brazilian 
minister,  Mr.  Rebello.  .His  name  is  in  every 
literary  and  scientific  institution,  and  the  poor 
have  blessed  him  for  his  kindness.  Jn  former 
times  a  man  was  thought  to  have  every'  claim 
to  society,  who  was  known  to  be  familiar  with  a 
baron,  count,  or  minister ;  but  the  people  are 
growing  more  republican  even'  day,  and  the 
smiles  of  a  diplomatist  is  not  now  the  standard 
for  the  admeasurement  of  claims  to  society. 
Now  and  then  a  romantic  girl  is  found  flirting 
to  catch  an  attache  :  but  she  is,  fortunately,  nine- 
ty.nine  times  out  of  the  hundred,  unsuccessful. 
During  the  session  of  Congress,  the  amuse- 
ments  of  Washington  absorb  no  small  portion  of 
the  attention  of  the  visiters,.  as  well  as  members. 
Political  struggles  produce  a  sort  of  dramatic  in- 
fluence on  society  ;  not  that  the  theatre  is  very 
well  attended  ;  but  for  th<;  short  time  it  is  kept 
open,  it  finds  a  very  tolerable  support  when 
the  press  of  visiters  is  great.  The  President's 
levees,  and  the  parties  of  the  secretaries,  foreign 
ministers,  heads  of  Bureaus,  and  those  citizens 
who  can  afford  to  make  parties,  are  frequent, 
and  well  attended.  At  these  parties  are  collect, 
ed  the  most  distinguished  men,  not  only  of  the 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.      151 

nation,  but  many  foreigners  of  note.  The  visit- 
ors, who  do  not  think  of  distinction,  like  well 
enough  to  see  what  is  passing,  and  they  find 
easy  access  to  the  social  circles,  and  mingle  in 
the  throng,  to  see  and  examine  for  themselves. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  get  an  introduction  to  men 
of  importance,  and  to  pass  a  social  half  hour  with 
them.  These  routs  are  rather  to  be  remember- 
ed, than  enjoyed  at  the  moment.  These  parties 
are  so  crowded  as  to  level  all  distinctions. 
Governors,  generals,  judges,  and  political  mana- 
gers, whose  influence  is  something  in  a  little  dis- 
trict, are  all  lost  in  this  congregation.  Orators, 
whose  speeches  were  fine  at  home,  and  doubt- 
less raised  a  most  noble  flame  among  their  po- 
litical partisans,  are  astonished  at  being  over- 
looked ;  and  poets,  whose  works  have  been 
printed  on  wire-wove  and  hot  press  paper,  and 
sent  to  the  ladies'  toilets  in  silk  or  morocco  bind- 
ing,  are  mortified  that  not  even  a  belie  lisps  a 
line  of  their  works,  or  ever  whispers  their  names. 
The  traveller,  who  has  seen  every  kingdom  on 
which  the  sun  looks  down,  is  put  precisely  on  a 
par  with  him  who  has  just  come  down  from  the 
mountains,  or  out  of  the  West,  or  from  the  East. 
Fashion  is  the  bed  of  Procrustes,  and  all  are 
suited  to  its  dimensions.  A  whiskered  dandy, 
a  black-stocked,  officer-like  looking  man,  and  a 
quizzing-glass  attache,  are  all  moving  about, 
regardless  of  those  they  jostle  or  crowd.  If  you 


152  COLLEGE. 

inquire  who  it  is  that  pushes  you  out  of  the  way 
to  get  at  a  partner  for  the  waltz,  no  body  can 
tell  you,  and  perhaps  he  hardly  could  himself,  if 
you  were  to  ask  him,  who  he  was  ;  no  matter, 
he  seems  genteel,  and  that  is  sufficient  for  the 
hour.  The  waltz  goes  on,  much  to  the  gratifi- 
cation of  the  exquisites  ;  for  belles — aye,  grave 
matrons,  are  swimming  round  in  the  dance,  if 
Dervise-like  whirling  can  be  called  dancing, 
and  you  see  blowsy  impudence  and  simpering 
familiarity  gazing  with  Asiatic  voluptuousness 
upon  seemingly  unsuspecting  innocence,  made 
giddy  by  unnatural  motion,  or  unmeaning  flat- 
tery. There  is  not  much  harm  in  all  this  ;  for 
each  one  is  taught  to  play  a  part,  and  it  is  all 
acting.  There  is  an  apparently  sober,  quiet 
part  of  the  joyous  whole,  who  are  insinuating 
the  little  rumours  of  the  day  ;  of  this  lady's  par- 
tialities, and  of  that  gentleman's  indiscretions, 
and  without  any  decided  ill  nature,  but  just  by 
the  way  of  amusement, 

"  Distort  the  truth,  accumulate  the  lie, 
And  pile  the  pyramid  of  calumny." 

This  is  a  picture  of  all  societies,  w'here  per- 
sons unknown  to  each  other,  except  from  the 
introduction  of  the  moment,  assemble. 

There  can  come  no  harm  from  our  looking 
out  of  the  limits  of  the  city  for  a  moment.  The 


COLLEGE".  153 

College  of  Georgetown  is  delightfully  situated 
on  an  eminence,  that  commands  a  fair  prospect 
of  all  around.  This  institution  was  established 
about  forty  years  since.  It  is  a  Catholic  semi- 
nary,  and  was  made  a  University  by  Congress  in 
1815,  with  the  power  of  granting  degrees.  The 
college  buildings  are  commodious  and  sufficient- 
ly elegant  for  all  the  purposes  of  a  school.  The 
library  is  respectable,  and  the  system  of  educa- 
tion is  liberal ;  the  modern  languages  are  taught 
there,  with  the  classical,  and  youths  of  all  deno- 
minations are  received  as  students. .  The  facul- 
ties are  composed  of  pious  and  learned  men, 
and  the  young  gentlemen  I  have  known,  who 
were  educated  there,  have  been  well  instructed. 
The  Catholic  clergy  of  Maryland  are  in  posses- 
sion of  handsome  revenues,  arising  from  large 
tracts  of  glebe  lands,  throughout  the  state. 
These  revenues  have  been  kept  for  the  true 
purposes  of  religion  and  learning,  and  the  eccle- 
siastical orders  have  never  been  charged  with 
ambition,  as  they  have  in  other  countries,  nor 
have  they  aspired  to  high  offices  in  the  state  or 
general  government.  The  Protestant  denomina- 
tions of  every  shade  of  doctrine  have,  unques- 
tionably from  principle,  in  some  period  or  other 
of  the  history  of  Maryland,  been  openly  and  se- 
cretly hostile  to  the  Catholic  church  ;  but  it  has 
gone  on  with  such  a  tolerant  spirit  as  to  disarm 
all  sects  of  their  enmity,  and  nearly  all  of  their 


]54  CONVENT  OF  VISITATION. 

opposition.  The  clergy  of  Maryland  protected 
those  persecuted  by  the  Church  of  England  on 
one  side  of  them,  and  those  exiled  by  the  Puri. 
tans  of  the  East  on  the  other.  In  a  free  coun- 
try all  men  should,  in  the  article  of  religious  be- 
lief, be  persuaded  in  their  own  minds,  and  the 
constitution  of  every  state  should  give  equal 
protection  to  all  creeds  ; 

"  Tros,  Rutulus  ve,  nullo  discrimine  habebo," 
should  be  the  language  of  the  lawgiver  in  every 
age  and  nation.     In  the  District  of  Columbia, 
this  principle  is  fairly  acted  upon,  and  the  com- 
munity feel  its  beneficial  effects. 

The  Convent  of  Visitation  is  an  object  of  deep 
interest  to  all  who  take  a  part  in  what  may  be 
emphatically  called  the  glory  of  this  country — 
its  education.  Seminaries  for  boys  are  suffi- 
ciently numerous  in  most  parts  of  the  country ; 
the  people  have  now  to  refine  and  exalt  their 
character,  not  add  to  their  numbers  ;  but  well 
regulated  female  schcfols  are  yet  much  wanted. 
This  Convent  was  established  more  than  thirty 
years  ago,  by  Archbishop  Neale,  a  most  worthy 
Prelate,  and  upon  a  most  improved  plan,  with 
the  piety  and  zeal  of  the  order  of  which  it  is  a 
part.  There  is  infused  into  the  constitution  of 
it  some  of  the  most  liberal  principles  of  the  age. 
The  superior  is  elected  by  the  sisterhood  every 
three  years,  and^is  ineligible  for  more  than 


CONVENT  OF  VISITATION.  155 

;wo  terms  in  succession.  Thus  the  elective 
franchise  in  this  country,  in  its  most  republican 
form,  has  found  its  way  into  "  The  Convent's 
Shade." 

The  number  of  Sisters,  or  nuns,  is  about  fifty; 
and  they  are  all  devoted  to  religious  duties  and 
to  the  education  of  females.  The  younger  Sis- 
ters  are  set  to  keep  an  eleemosynary  school,  and 
do  much  good  by  diffusing  correct  principles 
and  information  among  the  poor  ;  but  the  most 
valuable  part  of  the  establishment  is  the  board- 
ing school  for  young  ladies.  This  is  in  a  most 
flourishing  condition.  The  Sisters  themselves 
are  highly  educated,  in  every  branch  of  science, 
and  in  all  the  current  and  fashionable  literature 
of  the  age,  as  well  as  in  the  profound  ethics  and 
the  sublime  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion. 
In  this  institution  the  great  evil  of  most  schools 
is  avoided  ;  this  evil  is  to  make  one  person 
teach  many  branches,  and  of  course  no  one  can 
be  profound  in  all.  Here,  each  sister  selects 
her  department,  and  never  walks  out  of  it ;  six 
or  seven,  therefore,  are  united  as  instructors  in 
the  same  branch,  and  the  indisposition  of  one  or 
two  does  not  interfere  with  the  course  of  instruc- 
tion in  any  branch. 

The  languages  are  taught  here  with  great  ac- 
curacy, and  with  a  pure,  lady-like,  and  natural 
accent,  the  charm  of  polished  society.  The 
system  of  education  here,  extends  to  the  minute 


156  CONVENT  OF  VISITATION. 

duties  of  housewifery,  and  the  pupils  graduate 
with  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  science 
of  the  kitchen  and  mysteries  of  the  culinary 
art,  without  which  no  woman  can  be  said  to  be 
all-accomplished. 

The  system  of  government  in  this  school  is 
admirably  strict,  not  severe  ;  decided,  not  im- 
perative. There  is  no  espoinage  ;  no  making 
use  of  one  to  find  out  the  faults  of  another  ;  but 
their  care  and  watchfulness  are  so  sisterly  and 
maternal,  that  the  pupil  is  naturally  moulded, 
not  drilled,  to  good  manners.  Discipline  is  con- 
stantly going  on  even  in  those  hours  of  relaxa- 
tion in  which  girls  left  to  themselves  often  ac- 
quire an  awkwardness  of  manners  that  cleave  to 
them  for  the  whole  course  of  their  lives.  Such 
schools  are  rare.  The  Ursulines  have  just 
opened  one  on  the  same  plan,  near  Boston, 
which  is  flourishing  under  a  most  accomplished 
superior. 

If  this  age  has  any  thing  to  boast  of  over 
those  that  are  gone  by,  it  is  in  the  difference  of 
education,  and  the  facilities  it  has  invented  to 
give  a  genteel  education  to  female  youths,  with- 
out endangering  the  health,  or  diminishing  the 
grace  and  beauty  of  their  persons. 


LETTER   XV. 


New- York,  ,  1830. 

DEAH  SIR, 

THIS  CITY  is  called  the  London  of  Amer- 
ica.  Its  growth  since  the  close  of  the  revolu- 
tionary war  has  been  most  wonderfully  rapid. 
When  the  British  evacuated  it,  in  1783  there 
were  not  twenty  five  thousand  inhabitants  in  it, 
and  the  population  is  now  over  two  hundred 
thousand.  There  is  no  city  on  tWe  habitable 
globe  so  well  situated  for  commerce  as  New- 
York.  The  deep  and  surrounding  waters  af- 
fording docks  at  the  most  trifling  experlse  ;  its 
central  situation  in  regard  to  the  south  and  east, 
make  it  the  mart  for  both.  The  influx  of  for- 
eigners is  greater  here,  than  in  all  the  other 
cities  in  the  United  States.  All  tongues  and 
languages  are  heard  in  Broadway,  from  the  dawn 
to  midnight.  The  activity  of  the  people  is,  or 
seems  to  be  greater  here  than  in  other  places. 
The  houses  of  public  worship,  as  most  of  them 
are  called  to  distinguish  them  from  churches, 


158  NEW- YORK. 

when  they  are  nearly  the  same,  are  numerous 
and  many  of  them  splendid.  The  hotels  are 
spacious,  and  some  of  them  kept  in  a  great  style. 
Many  of  the  private  houses  are  also  elegant. 
There  is  as  far  as  I  can  see  a  great  deal  of 
wealth,  no  small  share  of  bustle  in  this  city,  and 
a  pretty  large  share  of  want  and  suffering.  The 
people  are  forever  finding  fault  with  the  corpo- 
ration, as  the  mayor  alderman  and  recorder  are 
called,  but  this  body  spend  a  large  sum  of  mon- 
ey yearly  and  probably  much  more  judiciously 
than  they  have  credit  for.  There  is  a  respecta- 
ble college  in  the  city  which  has  sent  forth  ma- 
ny fine  classical  scholars  ;  but  the  people  as  a 
body  are  just  beginning  to  be  literary  and  sci- 
entific, but  have  made  no  small  advances  in 
knowledge.  The  interior  of  the  state  has  grown 
beyond  all  parallel;  from  a  secondary  state,  it 
has  become  the  first  in  the  union  in  population, 
and  second  to  none  in  enterprize.  This  state 
alone  has  more  than  two  thirds  as  large  a  popu- 
lation as  the  whole  of  the  United  States  had 
when  the  revolutionary  war  broke  out.  The 
soil  is  rich,  take  the  whole  territory  together, 
and  seems  capable  of,  as  yet,  unlimited  cultiva- 
tion. The  great  canals  bring  the  remote  inte- 
rior to  the  seaboard ;  an  intercourse  hardly 
dreamt  of  by  the  people  of  a  former  age.  The 
foundations  are  laid  for  literary  and  scientific 
instructions  in  every  part  of  the  state  which, 


NEW- YORK.  159 

when  its   resources  are  more  fully  developed 
will  place  her  as  forward  in  the  blessings  of  in- 
struction, as  she  now  is  in  activity,  population 
and  enterprize.     The  race  of  men,  which  has 
gone  off  the  stage,  laid  the  foundation  for  her 
present  and  future  greatness.     The  Clintons, 
the  Livingstons,  the  Van  Courtlands,  with  Ham- 
ilton and  an  hundred  others,  were  shrewd  men 
who  foresaw  the  rising  greatness  of  the  state 
and  laboured  to  place  many  things  in  the  right 
way  for  improvement.  Their  memories  are  res- 
pected, at  the  present  time,  and  will  be  venera- 
ted hereafter.     The  politics  of  the  state  are  va- 
cilating  and  uncertain,  but  no  matter,  the  true 
leaven  is  in  the  people  and  the  people's  institu- 
tions.    The  professions  are  as  bodies,  learned, 
and  prosperous,  and  the  yeomanry  increasing 
in  wealth  and  knowledge  ;  and  these  things  are 
the  brightest  promise  and  the  surest  hopes  of  a 
people.    Individual  reputation  has  not,  it  is  true, 
so  great  a  security  in  the  shifting  winds  of  po- 
litical doctrines,  as  in  some  other  states,  but  in 
the  end,  this  is  no  great  evil,  for  many  assume 
and  support,  in  other  places,  a  fictitious  reputa- 
tion, which  perhaps  may  do  more  injury  than 
the  premature  decay  of  the  political  importance 
of  a  few  ambitious  statesmen.     It  is  however  to 
'be  regretted  that  her  influence  in  the  national 
government  is  not  greater  than  it  is,  having  for 
several  years  past  been  nearly  neutralized,  by 


160  NEW- YORK. 

the  strength  of  parties.  She  has  many  lessons 
to  learn,  but  she  is  aware  of  her  situation,  and 
that  is  nearly  half  the  battle,  for  a  change  of 
circumstances. 

In  New-York  there  are  several  writers  of  dis- 
tinction  who  have  assisted  to  enlighten  the  com- 
munity in  various  ways,  and  whose  productions 
are  well  known  to  all  the  reading  people.  Paul- 
ding,  for  wit,  and  satire,  is  second  to  no  one. 
His  satire  upon  those  pompous,  inane  travel- 
lers who  swarm  in  this  country,  is  so  keen,  and 
yet  so  playful,  that  those  ridiculed  must  be  quite 
tempted  to  laugh  at  their  own  picture,  from  his 
pen.  PauLding  can  be  grave  as  well  as  gay. 
Genuine  humour  however,  is  a  scarce  article  ; 
there' are  an  hundred  good  orators  to  one  Juve- 
nal or  Junius.  The  people  of  this  country  are 
beginning  to  value  the  refinements  of  wit,  and 
to  show  some  tolerable  taste  in  judging  of  it. 

You  are  acquainted  with  the  works  of  chan- 
cellor Kent.  He  is  the  Blackstone  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  for  he  has  written  four  volumes  of 
commentaries  of  nearly  or  quite  the  size  of 
his  great  prototype. 

The  work  is  found  in  almost  every  law  -library 
from  New  Orleans  to  Maine  and  highly  esteem- 
ed in  every  part  of  the  United  States.  The 
style  is  easy,  the  language  neat  and  pure,  and  the 
law  unquestionable.  It  is  a  standard  book,  used 
in  the  courts.  It  was  fortunate  for  the  whole 


NEW-YORK.  161 

country  that  one  state  had  so  absurd  a  law  in 
its  code  as  to  deprive  themselves  of  the  wisdom 
of  a  good  judge,  when  he  had  reached  the  age 
of  sixty.  The  Chancellor  having  reached  that 
age,  was  out  of  office  while  all  his  corporal  and 
mental  powers  were  in  full  vigour.  To  have 
returned  to  the  bar,  would  have  been  irksome, 
and  he  wisely  commenced  his  legal  labours  as 
author,  and  satisfied  the  whole  country,  that 
profound  lawyers  and  judges  who  wield  a  pen, 
as  well  as  advocate  or  decide  a  cause,  were  to  be 
found  in  the  United  States,  as  well  as  in  England. 
The  Chancellor  is  now  about  sixty  six  years 
of  age,  but  as  fresh  and  young  as  the  bard  of 
Teos  describes  himself  to  have  been,  when  he 
had  numbered  as  many  years.  Neither  in  move- 
ments,  nor  limbs,  or  mind,  or  imagination,  can 
you  see  a  particle  of  coming  age  in  the  Chan- 
cellor  ;  one  might  say  of  Kent,  what  a  grave,  or- 
thodox divine,  of  the  true  puritanical  stamp, 
onco  said  of  Hamilton.  He  came  from  the  east 
to  see  the  man  of  mighty  mind,  whose  reports, 
speeches,  and  whole  course  of  political  life,  had 
pleased  him  so  much.  The  desired  interview 
was  had,  and  the  conversation  lasted  long,  and 
was  discursive  and  animated.  When  the  holy 
man  came  home,  all  were  inquisitive  to  know  his 
opinion  of  Hamilton  ;  "  was  he  as  great  as  you 
expected  ?"  asks  one  ;  "  yes,  greater,"  was  th& 
reply  ;  "  what  did  he  talk  about  ?"  said  another  ; 
15 


162  POETS. 

"  every  thing,'  said  the  divine  ;  "  describe  him/ 
says  a  third  ;  the  old  man  began,  hesitated,  went 
on,  run  a  parallel  with  one,  as  to  his  eloquence, 
with  another  as  to  his  depth  of  thought  and  rea- 
soning ;  and  so  on  to  a  dozen,  but  all  did  not 
suit  him,  or  convey,  in  his  mind,  any  portion  of 
his  meaning  ;  at  last  in  despair  cf  doing  justice 
to  his  subject  he  broke  out  and  said,  "  why,  he  is 
as  playful  as  a  kitten." 

The  Edinburgh  Review  has  in  the  last  num- 
ber stated  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States  are  wanting  in  Imagination.  This  asser- 
tion is  the  offspring  of  a  profound  ignorance  of 
the  subject  of  which  the  writer  was  treating. 
They  are  full  of  imagination  ;  a  more  mercurial 
people  does  not  exist  this  side  of  Arabia.  If 
the  writer  had  said  that  their  imaginations  were 
not  cultivated,  and  that,  taste  was  not  yet 'suffi- 
ciently refined  to  place  them  among  the  first 
grade  of  poetical  nations,  there  might  have  been 
some  truth  in  the  remark  ;  but  it  only,  argues  an 
ignorance  of  this  people  from  Maine  ic  New-Or- 
leans, to  say  that  they,  are  wanting  in  imagina- 
tion. L .-will  now  name  a  few  of  the  poets  of  this 
country  to  you.  They  are  of  the  growth  of  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country,  most  of  them  how- 
ever northern  and  eastern  born. 

In  this  country  there  are  no  authors  by  pro- 
.fession  ;  a  few,  perhaps,  might  be  named,  who 
have  devoted  a  great  portion  of  their  lives  to 


POETS.  163 

literature.  Noah  Webster,  Hannah  Adams,  and 
perhaps  one  or  two  more  :  but  generally,  all 
the  poets  of  the  present  day,  and  all  other  wri- 
ters in  our  country,  are  engaged  in  professional 
pursuits,  and  take  up  the  pen  occasionally,  as 
circumstances  require  or  opportunity  offers. 

Doctor  GEORGE  J.  PERCIVAL  has  devoted  more 
of  his  time  to  poetry,  than  most  of  his  brothers 
of  the  tuneful  choir.  He  has  written  enough  to 
make  a  very  considerable  volume.  His  Prome- 
theus, although  not  so  much  read  as  many  of  his 
other  works,  is  full  of  deep  philosophy  and  fine 
poetry.  His  smaller  pieces  are  in  every  maga- 
zine and  newspaper  in  the  country.  His  lan- 
guage is  copious,  smooth,  and  well  chosen.  He 
unites  much  of  the  strength  of  Akenside  with 
the  sweetness  of  Kirk  White.  His  elements 
are  all  poetical ;  and  if  his  whole  time  was  de- 
voted to  writing,  his  country  would  be  greatly 
the  gainer  by  it ;  but  the  stern  necessity  which 
binds,  and  often  controls  the  destiny  of  the  sons 
of  song,  makes  him  the  supervisor  of  the  works 
of  others,  and  editor  of  many  compilations,  when 
he  should  be  devoted  to  the  offspring  of  his  own 
genius.  He  is  yet  young  for  one.  of  so  ripe  a 
fame  ;  and  much  is  to  be  hoped  for  him  in  time- 
to  come.  He  is  so  mild,  so  gentle,  and  has  so 
little  of  envy  in  his  nature,  that  those  who  know 
him,  love  him ;  and  he  has  seldom,  (a  rare  oc- 


164  POETS. 

currence,)  found  even  an  enemy  to  his  muse. 
I  do  not  recollect  a  single  criticism  on  his  works 
that  contained  any  acrimony. 

BRYANT  was  educated  a  lawyer,  and  has  been 
seduced  from  the  hard  labours  of  the  profession, 
by  his  love  of  letters,  to  become  an  editor  of  a 
paper,  and  a  general  writer.  His  poetry  has 
been  greatly  praised  by  those  who  were  the  best 
judges  of  literary  merit.  He  has  been  more  po- 
pular with  scholars  than  with  the  great  mass  of 
the  reading'community  ;  yet  with  them  he  holds 
a  high  rank.  He  is  natural,  easy,  and  tasteful, 
and  condenses  his  thoughts  with  great  power 
over  language,  by  having  clear  views  of  his 
subject.  He  is  descriptive  when  his  subject  ad- 
mits  of  it,  but  is  always  master  of  the  philosophy 
of  the  heart,  without  which  verse  is  nothing 
but  a  dress  for  moral  sentiment  and  metaphysical 
reasoning. 

The  Muse  of  CHARLES  SPRAGUE  was,  like 
Hoole's  nurtured  in  a  banking  house.  He  has 
long  been  engaged  in  the  duties  of  a  bank 
officer,  and  discharged  them  with  the  most  un- 
wearied industry  and  care  ;  but  these  arduous 
labours  have  not  repressed  his  warmth  of  zeal, 
or  clipt  the  wings  of  his  imagination.  Some  of 
his  poetry  is  as  solid  and  pure  as  the  precious 
metals  of  his  vaults. 


POETS.  165 

The  Rev.  SAMUEL  GILMAN,  of  Charleston, 
South-Carolina,  is  a  poet  of  highly  refined  taste, 
and  has  given  the  public  several  morceaus  of 
poetry,  that  show  the  vigour  and  delicacy  of  his 
muse.  He  has  sometimes  attempted  subjects 
that  were  not  poetical,  being  too  high  for  the 
descriptive,  such  as  the  burning  of  the  Rich- 
mond Theatre.  Poetry  may  darken  the  gloomy, 
aggravate  the  awful,  and  extend  the  vast ;  but 
when  a  scene  is  so  overwhelming,  so  recent,  and 
so  settled  in  agony  upon  every  nerve  of  the 
whole  people,  there  is  nothing  left  for  the  muse 
to  do.  At  such  a  moment,  grief  is  tearless  and 
wo  is  dumb.  To  attempt,  then,  a  requiem  for 
the  dead,  is  labour  lost ;  the  eye  cannot  see  an 
epitaph,  traced  with  ever  so  bold  a  hand  ;  nor 
the  ear  hear  a  lamentation,  however  deep  and 
loud  it  may  be.  This  poem  has,  however,  ma- 
ny fine  touches  of  sentiment  in  it,  and  proves 
that  the  author,  on  a  subject  softened  by  dis- 
tance, or  time,  could  be  both  descriptive  and  pa- 
thetic. 

N.  CARTER,  whose  classical  travels  have  been 
extensively  read  in  this  country,  was  also  a 
poet.  He  has  given  the  public  many  pieces  on 
occasional  subjects ;  but  the  most  considerable  of 
his  productions  is  his  Phi  Beta  Kappa  poem  on 
the  PAINS  OF  THE  IMAGINATION.  The  verse  of 
this  poem  is  smooth,  harmonious,  and  sweet; 
15* 


166  POETS. 

the  philosophy  true,  and  the  sentiment  touching. 
Indisposition  gave  a  melancholy  shade  to  his 
drapery  ;  but  it  is  disposed  of  with  exactness 
and  taste.  The  news  of  his  death  has  just 
reached  us.  He  was  too  delicate  for  his  pro- 
fession, the  editor  of  a  newspaper.  Men  are 
seldom  found  in  the  place  best  suited  to  their 
talents. 

DAWES  is  quite  a  young  man  ;  but  has  writ- 
ten  enough,  that  is  beautiful  and  attractive,  to 
place  him  in  the  constellation  of  poets  that  has 
lately  risen  to  the  view  of  the  American  people  ; 
a  constellation  that  emits  a  mild  and  lovely 
light ;  but  one  that  has  not  shone  long  enough, 
as  yet,  for  the  observer  to  calculate  its  precise 
range  in  the  heavens,  or  to  mark  the  exact 
magnitude  of  the  different  stars  that  form  it. 
Justice,  in  time,  will  be  done  to  each  and  all ; 
for  the  night  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  in 
which  the  streaming  meteor  excited  the  wonder 
and  fastened  the  gaze  of  nations,  while  the  har- 
monious movements  of  the  planets  were  but  lit- 
tle noticed,  has  passed  away  for  ever,  and  every 
eye  is  now  fixed  upon  the  regular,  the  beauti- 
ful, the  shining  heavenly  body,  whether  it 

*'  Adorns  the  eve,  or  ushers  in  the  morn." 
But  to  come  down  from  the  Empyrean  to  which, 


POETS.  167 

in  contemplating  the  subject  of  poetry  and  its 
authors,  I  am  often  carried  ;  and  to  speak  plain- 
ly of  these  writers,  I  think  that  they  will  not 
have  occasion,  in  the  end,  to  complain  of  the 
discussions  of  the  public  on  their  respective 
merits  ;  for  there  is  no  one  person,  in  this  com- 
munity, as  there  has  been  in  England,  at  some 
periods  in  her  history,  who  was  the  arbiter  ele- 
gantiarum  of  the  public,  and  from  whose  judg- 
ments it  were  in  vain  to  appeal. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  UPHAM,  of  New-Hampshire, 
has  written  enough  to  show  that  the  fire  of  true 
poetry  is  within  him,  and  it  would  not,  we  con- 
conceive,  take  either  from  the  sanctity  of  his 
calling,  or  from  the  time  that  could  be  better 
occupied,  if  he  were  to  indulge  himself  in  a  lit- 
tle devotion  to  poetry  ;  perhaps  more  true  pie- 
ty has  been  conveyed  in  verse  than  in  almost 
every  other  way.  In  the  first  place  it  is  attract- 
ive, and  will  be  read  when  graver  discourses 
will  not,  and  is  remembered  much  longer  than  the 
same  sentiment  in  prose. 

HALLECK  has  been  often  before  the  public,  in 
pieces  of  infinite  wit  and  playfulness.  There  is 
a  flow  and  ease  of  composition,  probably  in 
this,  as  in  most  other  cases,  the  effect  of  great 
labour  ;  for  I  cannot  conceive  of  ease  being  ac- 
quired in  verse  without  it,  which  has  distinguish- 


168  POETS. 

ed  him  among  his  brethren.  He  has  gathered 
up,  or  suffered  somebody  else,  to  collect  a 
volume  or  two  of  his  poems,  and  has  not  a  few 
still  floating  in  the  journals  of  the  day.  His 
playful  scraps  are  not  inferior  to  Moore's, 
which  have  lately  been  collected  by  his  poetical 
friends.  I  name  this  to  show  how  difficult  it 
is  to  succeed  in  wit  and  satire,  especially  if  it 
assumes  a  playful  manner.  The  grave  rebuke 
is  easy,  but  the  ironical  smile  is  of  difficult  at- 
tainment. It  is  a  powerful  and  a  dangerous 
weapon,  and  is  apt  to  be  freely  used  when  the 
possessor  is  unconscious  of  its  effects  ;  but  I  do 
not  know  that  Mr.  Halleck  has  used  it  on  any 
but  lawful  subjects,  and  in  a  gentlemanly  man- 
ner. His  hit  at  the  Percys  was  a  fair  one. 

MR.  WELLS,  of  Boston,  has  been  the  success- 
ful writer  for  several  prize  odes  and  has  nu- 
merous cups  and  pieces  of  plate  as  trophies  of 
his  muse.  He  is  well  read  in  English  poetry 
and  has  a  fine  taste  in  it.  His  imagination  is 
prolific,  but  he  chastises  his  productions  with 
the  greatest  scrupulosity.  He  comes  from  ac- 
tive business  to  his  books,  as  an  elegant  amuse- 
ment, and  not  as  the  labour  of  life  :  this  is  the 
charm  of  letters,  when  they  can  be  used  as  the 
ornaments  of  social  intercourse  and  polished 
society,  and  the  mind  is  improved  and  the  dispo- 
sition sweetened  by  them  in  these  hours  which 


POETS.  169 

might  otherwise  be  spent  in  trifling  amusements, 
or  idleness,  which  is  still  worse.  It  is  one  of 
the  best  proofs  of  the  progress  of  refinement  in 
this  country  that  neither  wealth,  nor  martial 
achievements  are  held  in  much  estimation  un- 
accompanied by  respectable  literary  attain, 
ments,  and  a  lady  of  ever  so  fine  teeth,  or 
beaming  eyes,  could  hold  her  place  as  a  belle 
not  a  moment  after  it  was  known  that  her  pro- 
nunciation was  vulgar,  or  her  grammar  bad. 

MR.  SA>TDS  is  a  poet  of  most  exquisite  taste. 
He  wrote  in  connection  with  his  friend  Eastburn 
that  beautiful  Indian  tale  Yamoyden.  It  is  a  fine 
specimen  of  poetry.  Mr.  Sands  is  now  quite 
devoted  to  letters,  in  some  shape  or  other.  His 
productions  often  adorn  the  annuals  printed  in 
this  country,  such  as  the  Talisman,  Souvenir,  &c. 
Whatever  comes  from  his  pen  has  the  marks  of 
mind  and  taste  about  it.  He  is  now  engaged 
in  a  biographical  work  of  some  importance, 
which  will,  no  doubt,  receive  the  justice  it  de- 
mands from  his  pen.  Yamoyden  is  a  poem 
which  has  been  admired  by  the  lettered  and 
tasteful,  but  has  not  yet  floated  into  that  popu- 
lar current  of  distinction  which  it  will  inevitably, 
sooner  or  later  find.  Mr.  Sands  is  a  ripe  scho- 
lar, familiar  with  all  the  best  specimens  of  an- 
cient and  modern  poetry,  and  if  his  muse  has  a 
fault,  it  is  that  of  being  too  fastidious  and  severe 


170  POETS. 

in  her  corrections  of  her  own  inspirations  ;  but 
this  is  so  rare  a  fault  in  this  country,  where  it 
must  be  confessed,  you  may  find  more  genius 
than  taste,  that  it  should  be  forgiven  for  its  sin- 
gularity. 

Among  the  most  remarkable  instances  of  pre- 
cious talents  and  acquirements  is  James  Nack 
the  deaf  and  dumb  poet  of  the  city  of  New-York. 
He  is  now  not  far  from  twenty  years  of  age, 
but  as  young  as  he  is,  he  has  written  more  vol- 
uminously than  any  poet  among  all  those  I  have 
named.  But  only  one  volume  of  his  works  is 
as  yet  printed,  though  he  has  many  manuscripts 
on  hand  which  will  probably  see  the  light  when 
he  has  become  more  known.  This  young  man's 
growth  has  been  most  wonderful.  He  was  born 
with  perfect  organs  of  hearing,  and  of  speech, 
and  retained  them  until  he  was  nine  years  old, 
when  by  an  accident  his  head  was  so  crushed 
as  to  have  destroyed  his  auditory  nerves,  and 
by  degrees  his  faculty  of  speech  was  lost — a 
very  natural  consequence  of  his  misfortune.  His 
father  had  been  unfortunate  in  business  as  a 
merchant  in  Nack's  infancy,  and  he  had  no  ad- 
vantages of  schooling  but  what  he  picked  up 
from  his  sisters,  yet  was  considered  a  good  rea- 
der at  four  years  of  age,  and  he  had  a  passion, 
a  very  common  one  in  forward  children,  of 
preaching — that  is,  in  a  solemn  way,  muttering 
over  their  fancies.  A  bright  and  observing 


POETS.  171 

child  sees_the  great  attention  and  reverence 
that  is  paid  to  the  services  of  the  clergyman, 
not  only  by  his  parents  and  his  brothers  and  sis- 
ters,  but  by  all  in  the  church.  He  is  taught 
that  the  speaker  is  a  good  man,  and  in  the  first 
awakenings  of  his  mind  he  attempts  to  imitate 
him.  Nack  had  heard  the  singers  in  the  church, 
and  had  caught  something  of  the  chiming  of 
words,  and  once,  being  without  a  hymn  book,  he 
framed  a  couplet,  for  which  he  was  applauded, 
and  this  encouraged  him  to  make  a  few  lines 
every  day,  and  before  he  was  in  his  ninth  year 
he  had  a  good  knowledge  of  rhymth  and  rhyme 
from  a  cultivated  ear.  This  he  has  so  com. 
pletely  kept  in  his  memory  that  I  question  very 
much,  whether  there  is  any  poet  living  who  has 
a  better  knowledge  of  rhyming  words  in  the 
English  language  than  Nack.  ,  > 

As  soon  as  he  recovered  from  the  injury  done 
to  "his  head,  as  far  as  he  ever  recovered ;  he  was 
sent  to  the  assylum  for  the  deaf  and  dumb.  But 
it  is  quite  questionable  whether  the  instructors 
of  that  excellent  institution  ever  precisely  un- 
derstood the  bent  and  the  extent  of  his  genius. 

At  about  twelve  years  of  age  Nack  wrote  a 
tragedy  ;  this  he  destroyed  ;  but  his  mind  at  that 
time,  was  in  one  constant  dramatic  effort  ;  it 
was  an  expedient  he  resorted  to,  to  get  rid  of 
the  deep  wretchedness  he  felt  at  being,  as  it 
were,  left  alone  with  himself  to  contemplate  his 


172  POETS. 

misfortuae  in  losing  his  hearing  and  speech.  In 
the  regions  of  imagination  he  was  soothed,  and 
warmed  with  all  the  dreamy  delights  to  be  found 
in  such  fairy  land ;  an  expedient  that  riper 
minds  have  resorted  to,  to  soften  the  agonies 
of  the  heart. 

The  productions  of  his  fourteenth  year  were 
numerous,  but  to  use  his  own  words  "  most  of 
these  have  perished  except  two  or  three  small 
pieces  inserted  in  my  published  volume.  Most 
of  the  minor  pieces  in  that  volume,  were  written 
in  my  fifteenth  year,  among  which,  those  I  am 
proudest  of,  are  Blue  eyed  Maid,  the  Grave  of 
Mary,  and  the  Gallant  Highland  Rover." 

In  his  fifteenth  year  he  wrote  another  trage- 
dy. It  was  written  under  peculiar  circumstan- 
ces,  at  the  early  dawn  of  the  morning  in  the 
winter  season,  in  the  garret  where  he  lodged, 
without  a  spark  of  fire,  and  only  a  stump  of  a 
pen,  and  without  a  table,  he  stole  the  moments 
to  write  a  long  tragedy  on  his  knees.  He  had 
no  sooner  finished  than  he  concealed  it,  and  has 
never  suffered  it  to  be  seen. 

In  his  sixteenth  year  he  wrote,  with  many 
other  poems,  that  beautiful  effort  of  genius,  the 
Minstrel  Boy.  This  came  from  his  heart,  and 
it  reaches  the  heart  of  every  reader.  It  has  a 
deep  tone  of  feeling,  a  sweetness  of  language 
and  ease  of  versification  that  will  secure  its  im- 
mortality. 


POETS.  173 

Until  his  sixteenth  year  he  had  never  found 
any  one  who  was  capable  of  understanding  his 
character,  and  of  giving  him  advice  and  encour- 
agement united  to  friendship.  It  was  then  he 
began  to  fee)  the  balmy  soothings  of  kindness 
that  came  with  advice  and  patronage.  It  was 
not  until  this  period  that  he  had  found  books,  ex- 
cept  by  accident.  He  now  was  in  the  library 
of  a  gentleman  of  taste  who  was  as  kind  to  him 
as  a  father.  This  situation  opened  a  new  world 
to  him.  He  revelled  in  fresh  delights  ;  devoured 
books  upon  poetry,  history,  philosophy,  fiction, 
mathematics,  politics,  ethics,  criticism,  and  the- 
ology, formed  a  thousand  theories  and  tore  them 
up,  root  and  branch,  for  new  creations  ;  and  these 
again  shared  the  same  fate.  He  wrote,  as  well 
as  read  on  all  these  subjects,  and  piled  manu- 
script upon  manuscript,  which  he  sometimes 
viewed  with  all  the  rapture  of  genius,  and  then 
with  freakish  untowardness  turned  from  his  nu- 
merous progeny  with  loathing.  With  all  the 
irritation  of  wounded  sensibility  he'grows  fever- 
ish over  his  reminiscences,  and  then  again  hur- 
ries on  to  perform  some  new  task.  He  seems 
to  have  no  dread  of  any  labour,  however  severe 
it  may  be,  if  it  will  please  a  friend  or  come  to 
any  account  for'himself  or  others. 

His  acquirements,  at  this   early  age,  in  the 
languages  and  all  the  branches  of  knowledge, 
ordinary,  and  extraordinary  is  superior  to  that  of 
16 


174  POETS. 

any  young  man's  of  the  same  age  I  have  ever 
met  with,  There  is  a  strength  and  maturity 
about  his  mind  nofto  be  found  in  one  who  has 
had  the  use  of  his  ears  «nd  tongue.  His  criti- 
cisms have  a  sagacity  and  shrewdness  unequal- 
ed  by  those  who  were  critics  long  before  he.  was 
born.  He  acquires  a  language  with  the  most 
astonishing  facility.  No  one  I  ever  knew,  could 
do  it  with  the  same  readiness,  except  the  late 
learned  orientalist,  George  Bethane  English. 
Nack  unites  in  a  most  astonishing  degree  those 
two  seemingly  inconsistent  qualities  restlessness 
and  perseverance.  He  reat's,  writes  and  does  all 
things  as  though  he  had  just  breathed  the  Del- 
phi vapour,  and  perseveres  as  though  he  were 
chained  to  the  spot  by  some  talismanic  power. 
He  is  a  bunch  of  delicate  fibree,  too.  susceptible 
for  composure,  or  rather  of  nerves,  jarred  to  ag- 
ony, if  struck  by  a  rude  hand.  Poetical  beings 
are  often  too  sensitive  when  in  possession  of 
every  natural  property  and  gift,  but  when  de- 
prived of  the  charms  of  hearing  and  speaking, 
the  pulses  of  the  heart  seem  to  beat  in  our  own 
sight,  without  even  the  thinest  skin  to  hide  them ; 
open  to  every  blast  of  a  cold  and  cruel  world. 
But  in  a, few  years  he  will  find  things  changing 
around  him,  and  thege  youthful  labours  now 
viewed  as  useless,  will  become  in  his  opinion, 
as  the  foundation  stones  of  a  goodly  edifice  in 
the  fashioning  of  which  he  has  learnt  the  skill 


POETS.  175 

of  a  literary  architect  and  acquired  the  strength 
to  raise  a  temple  of  imperishable  fame,  for  his 
own  and  his  country's  glory. 

,  The  ladies  of  this  country  may  justly  put  in 
their  claims  for  distinction,  in  every  path  of  lit- 
erature, but  particularly  in  poetry.  It  is  con- 
sidered among  the  elegant  accomplishments  of 
the  age,  and  the  great  number  who  possess  the 
talent  prove  that  this  is  a  land  of  pure  etherial 
fancy,  and  correct  taste.  Mrs.  Sigourney  who 
was  known  as  a  poet,  in  her  maiden  days,  then, 
Miss  Huntley,  has  not  with  the  cares  of  her 
family,  as  is  often  the  case  with  female  musi- 
cians, or  poets,  neglected  her  devotions  to  the 
muse  ;  but  has  given  the  world  other  effusions 
since,  marked  with  more  strength  and  beauty 
than  those  which  charmed  all  who  read  them, 
in  her  earlier  days.  There  is  a  sweetness,  a 
depth  of  feeling,  a  grasp  of  thought,  united  with 
the  most  perfect  care  and  elegance  in  her  wri- 
tings, that  shows  she  was  intended  to  be  con- 
spicuous among  gifted  minds,  and  an  ornament 
to  the  virtuous  as  well  as  intellectual  part  of  the 
community.  From  her  residence  of  elegance 
and  taste  on  the  banks  of  the  lovely  Connecticut, 
she  sends  forth  her  minstrelsy,  to  guide  the 
young  and  to  delight  the  old,  and  to  improve  all 
ages  ;  may  it  be  long  before  others  shall  supply 
her  place  ;  may  the  flowers  of  her  arbours  bloom, 
and  her  harp  be  in  tune,  until  nature  shall  re- 


176  POETS. 

quire  that  repose  that  philosophy  contemplates 
with  composure  and  religion  with  visions  of  hope 
and  transport. 

MKS.  HALE,  who  is  now  conducting  a  literary 
periodical  in  Boston,  has  besides  several  respec- 
table works  in  prose,  written  many  pieces  of 
fine  poetry.  She  is  now  in  a  circle  of  intelli- 
gence and  taste,  where  her  merits  will  be  ack- 
nowledged. The  muses  may  owe  their  birth  to 
a  village,  and  love  to  reside  for  a  season  amid 
sylvan  scenes,  but  some  Athens  must  be  near 
for  them  to  resort  to  occasionally,  and  receive  the 
homage  their  inspirations  deserve,  and  which  it 
was  never  known  that  their  modesty  refused. 
Apollo  must  listen  if  the  best  song  of  the  Nine 
is  expected. 

IT  is  a  long  time  since  the  public  have  heard 
any  thing  from  Mrs.  Oilman,  except  her  fame 
as  the  pride  of  the  social  circle,  and  the  first  in 
every  charitable  exertion,  but  it  will  be  long  be- 
fore the  lovers  of  genuine  pathos  and  poetry  will 
forget  'Jephthah's  vow?.'  by  Miss  Howard.  We 
hope  the  mild  air  of  the  south  will  not  incline 
her  to  forget  her  early  promise  to  her  country, 
that  such  talents  should  not  be  hid. 

MRS.  WARE  is  the  editor  of  the  Bower  of 
Taste,  a  periodical  of  reputation,  printed  in 
Boston,  along  side  of  Mrs.  Hale's  magazine. 


POETS.  177 

These  rival  ladies,  I  use  the  word  in  its  primitive 
sense,  divide  a  liberal  patronage,  in  that  city. 
She  too,  is  a  poet,  and  established  her  reputation 
by  writing  occasional  hymns  and  odes,  before 
she  took  the  editor's  chair,  and  came  out  as  one 
of  the  literati  by  profession.  There  is  ease, 
spirit  and  mind  in  her  verse,  and  her  prose  is- 
tasteful  and  elegant.  The  fact  of  these  two  ed- 
itors and  that  of  there  being  so  large  a  number 
of  females  who  are  writers,  speak  volumes  for 
the  advancement  of  education  here.  It  is  evi- 
dence of  the  polish  and  intelligence  of  a  nation, 
that  their  females  assist  in  directing  the  minds 
of  the  rising  generation.  The  writings  of  Han- 
nah More,  Joanna  Baillie,  Miss  Lucy  Aikin  and 
Miss  Mitford,  with  a  host  of  others,  are  now,- 
and  for  a  long  time  have  been,  an.  honourable 
portion  of  English  current  literature  which  has 
found  its  way  among  the  reading  community,  in 
the  United  States. 

Hannah  Adams,  Miss  Sedgewick,  Mrs.  Childs 
(formerly  Miss  Francis,)  Mrs.  Willard  and 
others  have  been  eminently  successful  in  lead- 
ing the  youths  of  this  country  in  the  paths  of 
knowledge.  Acquainted  with  the  infant  mind^ 
they  early  learnt  the  best  methods  of  instilling 
virtuous  principles,  and  making  pure  impres- 
sions, with  the  facts  and  reasoning  that  go  to 
make  up  the  mass  of  information  which  is  pos- 
16* 


178  POETS. 

sessed  in  the  maturity  of  the  understanding.  A 
sound  principle,  taught  in  the  nursery,  and  af- 
terwards cherished  in  the  domestic  circle,  seems 
written  on  the  heart  and  brain  together,  and  is 
seldom  or  never  effaced.  They  may  be  obscu- 
red for  a  while  by  false  doctrines  and  loose  ha- 
bits, but  they  break  out  and  shine  again  when 
these  delusions  have  passed  away. 

Of  the. male  and  female  poets  I  have  not  given 
a  tenth  part  of  the  names  of  those  who  have 
gained  a  considerable  share  of  fame  by  their 
productions  ;  and  there  are  many  who  write  well 
for  amusement,  who  will  not  avow  their  produc- 
tions. This  is  decidedly  a  land  of  poets  as  well 
as  painters  ;  but  it  is  strange  that  there  should 
be  so  much  written  when  authors  are  so  wretch- 
edly paid  for  their  labour.  It  is  not  strange 
that  authors  in  this  country  are  badly  paid  when 
the  fact  is  known  that  about  five  hundred  Eng- 
glish  works  are  reprinted  here  a  year.  Some 
of  them,  are  standard  works,  and  of  service  in 
diffusing  useful  knowledge,  but  with  these  all 
the  trashy  novels,  as  well  as  the  good  ones  are 
found. 


LETTER  XVI. 


New- York,  ,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  REGRET  that  you  should  have  given  so 
much  credit  to  capt.  Basil  Hall's  account  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States.  There  have  been 
a  race  of  wretched  travellers  from  England 
whose  works  have  passed  among  the  people  as 
honest  chronicles,  when  they  were,  in  truth,  a 
tissue  of  falsehoods  and  absurdities.  Ash  was 
a  miserable  liar,  and  is  not  now  believed  by  any 
one.  -Kendal  had  not  the  spirit  of  on  old  wo- 
man, and  Miss  Fanny  Wright  was  a  dreaming 
enthusiast  when  she  gave  an  account  of  this 
country.  Hall  came  to  write  a  book  and  by  his 
being  a  post  capt.  in  the  navy  had  access  to 
good  society ;  but  he  was  a  wretched  specimen 
of  English  manners.  He  attempted  to  be  re- 
publican  and  was  most  insufferably  vulgar.  I 
have  never  met  with  a  well  bred'  Englisman  in 
this  country  who  was  not  ashamed  of  him,  nor 
an  American  who  did  not  despise  him. 

Your  alarm  for  the  religious  character  of  the 
United  States  is  altogether  unnecessary  ;   the 


180  BASIL  HALL. 

people,  as  a  mass,  are  as  truly  religious,  as  any 
people  in  the  world,  and  do  as  much  for  the 
support  of  it  as  any  other  people  ;  and  in  most 
cases,  throughout  the  whole  country,  the  pay  of 
the  clergy  is  from  voluntary  taxation.  The  va- 
rious creeds  professed  have  but  little  influence 
on  the  public  morals,  because  good  moral  con- 
duct is  either  the  basis,  or  a  prime  ingredient, 
in  all  the  creeds.  A  good  patriot,  when  he 
sees  any  religious  sect  doing  justly  and  walking 
humbly,  does  not  quarrel  with  them  for  shades 
of  difference  between  them  and  himself  in  reli- 
gious belief.  The  impression  you  have  of  the 
influence  of  Mr.  Owen  and  his  disciples,  is  alto- 
gether erroneous.  You  get  a  wrong  statement 
from  the  two  parties  who  talk  the  most  about  it. 
The  followers  of  Owen  are  enthusiastic  in  all 
they  do  and  say  ;  and  their  accounts  of  their 
success  cannot  be  depended  upon,  even  to  the 
slightest  detail ;  they  see  every  thing  as  reform- 
ers, and  turn  it  all  to  their  advantage.  If 
you  were  to  listen  to  them,  you  would  sup- 
pose that  the  reign  of  reason,  after  their  fashion, 
had  come,  and  all  superstition  and  priestcraft 
were  falling  into  the  dust  at  once,  and  an  exalt, 
ed  moral  feeling  and  principle  was  directly  to 
take  the  place  of  ignorance  and  debasement.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  you  should  hear  the  timid  and 
scrupulous  portion  of  the  community,  you  would 
think  the  altars  of  true  religion  were  at  once  to 


OWEN,  &c.  181 

be  overthrown,  and  the  reign  of  infidelity  and 
libertinism  were  to  ensue. 

Hall  thought  that  he  had  acquired  more  in- 
formation  than  all  his  predecessors,  and  should 
be  enabled  to  enlighten  all  his  countrymen 
respecting  this  country  ;  for  he  assumed  to  think 
deeply  on  all  subjects ;  but  you  can  hardly 
find  a  book  containing  more  charlatanry  than  his 
in  all  the  bookstores  in  England. 

I  went  last  evening  to  the  Hall  of  Science,  as 
it  is  called,  to  hear  and  see  Miss  Fanny  Wright. 
She  was  to  deliver  one  of  her  lectures  on  Know- 
ledge. She  is  a  tall,  bony  woman,  of  a  good 
countenance,  and  not  an  ungraceful  person.  Her 
style  of  elocution  is  imposing.  She  speaks  as 
one  conscious  of  high  mental  powers,  and  as  one 
believing  that  she  was  born  for  a  reformer.  She 
has  nothing,  however,  of  novelty  in  her  theory. 
She  said  what  Mary  Woolstoncraft  had  said 
before  she  was  heard  of,  in  a  more  fascinating,  if 
not  in  so  logical  a  manner.  She  inveighed  against 
the  established  order  of  things,  as  if  the  whole 
world  were  deceived  and  led  blindfolded  by 
rulers,  judges,  divines,  and  pretended  moralists, 
of  all  classes.  I  have  a  full  belief  that  the  mis- 
taken woman  is  sincere  in  her  creed,  if  creed  it 
can  be  called  that  denounces  all  creeds,  human 
and  divine.  But  she  propagates  error  under  the 
guise  of  doing  good,  and  sows  the  seed  of  moral 
evil  under  the  lofty  pretensions  of  eradicating 


182  OWEN,  &c. 

fixed  and  settled  errors.  A  misguided  multitude 
follow  her  ;  some  honest  dupes,  but  more  dis- 
honest mal-contents  are  in  her  train.  She  at- 
tacks  the  altar  of  God  as  though  it  were  an  al- 
tar of  Baal ;  and  solemnly  pronounces  the  whole 
profession  of  priests  a  race  of  hypocrites. 
There  were  many  things  in  her  lecture  that 
were  very  good,  if  they  were  unconnected  with 
the  vile  slanders  she  so  shamelessly  uttered. 
Her  whole  course  of  conduct  shows  that  she  is 
both  ambitious  and  benevolent ;  and  she  thinks 
that  she  hides  the  former  under  the  mantle  of 
the  latter  ;  but  in  this  she  is  as  silly  as  the  os- 
trich, who  thinks  herself  concealed,  when  she 
has  only  hid  her  head.  To  see  a  man  in  the 
profligacy  of  a  coarse,  strong  and  misguided  in- 
tellect, railing  at  religion  and  trampling  upon 
every  thing  sacred,  is  painful  enough  ;  but  to 
behold  a  woman,  of  a  refined  education,  fitted 
for  all  the  charities  of  life,  so  far  unsex  herself 
as  to  promulgate  doctrines,  that  bring  down  the 
pride  of  female  virtue,  and  place  every  one  of 
her  sex  on  a  par  with  the  impure  and  wicked,  is 
too  painful  to  dwell  upon.  This  misguided  wo- 
man is, now  followed  and  cheered  by  those  who 
are  at  war  with  the  established  order  of  things ; 
but  the  most  will  drop  off,  one  after  another ; 
and  the  probability  is,  that  she  will  find  herself, 
in  her  old  age,  deserted  by  those  who  once  af- 
fected to  admire  her,  and  be  left  to  mourn  over 


OWEN,  &c.  183 

her  worse  than  useless  life  ;  then  she  will  see 
the  difference  between  philosophical  benevo- 
lence and  Christian  charity  ;  the  one  is  stained 
with  the  filthy  currents  of  this  world,  and  par- 
takes deeply  of  the  nature  of  the  earth,  while 
the  other  is  illumined  by  the  light  above,  and 
grows  brighter  and  stronger  as  its  burthens  in- 
crease. Such  spirits  as  Fanny  Wright  are 
blessings  in  disguise.  If  there  was  nothing  to 
alarm  the  city,  the  watchmen  would  sleep  on 
their  posts.  Our  spiritual  watchmen  are  but 
men,  and  they  require  to  be  alarmed  by  some 
symptoms  of  danger  to  keep  them  awake.  A 
rude  attack  may  make  them  more  united;  a 
charge  brought  against  them  for  want  of  con- 
cord, may  teach  them  to  move  in  more  harmo- 
ny. From  evil,  good  may  come.  -Moral  evil 
is,  perhaps,  as  necessary  to  fulfil  the  designs  of 
Heaven,  as  natural  evil.  Fire,  flood,  pestilence, 
and  war,  are  all  instruments  in  the  hands  of  a 
just  God,  for  wise  purposes,  and  why  not  a  re- 
viler  of  his  nature  and  government  1 

There  is  a  most  active  spirit  abroad  in  the 
cause  of  benevolence  and  religion  ;  it  pervades 
every  part  of  this  country  ;  large  sums  are 
yearly  collected  for  all  the  purposes  of  enlight- 
ening the  rising  generation ;  Bibles  and  good 
-books  are  put  into  the  hands  of  all  classes  of 
the  people,  and  it  is  a  prevailing  fashion  in  the 
upper  circles  to  know  something  of  the  Scrip- 


184  OWEN,  &c. 

tures.  Men  now  discuss  the  subject  of  divinity 
as  well  as  others,  and  form  their  own  opinions 
upon  these  weighty  matters  ;  and  while  child- 
ren  are  taught  theology  in  the  nursery,  and  the 
philosopher  is  as  much  pleased  with  the  subject 
as  the  priest,  there  can  be  no  just  fears  from  a 
few  specious  reformers,  who  make  themselves 
conspicuous  by  their  blasphemies,  rather  than 
from  their  reasoning  powers.  Ever  since  I 
have  looked  on  men,  I  have  never  known  it 
fail,  that  the  blasphemous  were  in  the  end  de- 
serted, and  their  names  held  in  abhorrence.  The 
Sunday  Schools,  which  are  established  in  all  parts 
of  this  country,  and  are  so  numerous  that  their 
honest  register  seems  to  stagger  all  belief,  are 
soon  to  be  the  greatest  moral  engine,  next  to 
that  of  permanent  day  schools,  that  civilization 
has  ever  devised.  A  thousand  false  teachers  of 
infidelity  cannot  withstand  the  force  of  these 
modes  of  instructing  the  youthful  mind.  These 
false  teachers  may  seem  to  have  great  influence 
with  the  people  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered, 
that  the  sincere  followers  of  such  lecturers  as 
Owen  and  Fanny  Wright,  are  those  who  have 
long  been  infidels  ;  the  rest  of  the  audience  are 
made  up  of  those  who  are  curious  to  hear  all 
things,  but  are  not  converts,  or  likely  to  be  ; 
or  those  whom  idleness,  or  accident,  throw  in 
by  way  of  amusement ;  and  it  is  not  to  this  latter 
class  the  difference  of  a  pin's  fee  whether  they 


OWEN,  &c.  185 

take  a  lounge  into  the  theatre,  fall  into  a  gam- 
bling  room,  or  stroll  up  to  the  Hall  of  Science,  to 
hear  the  female  orator.  They  must  have  some- 
thing to  amuse  themselves  with,  and  a  female 
preacher  is  as  good  as  any  thing  else.  It  would 
be  wrong  to  infer  their  depravity  from  the  place 
where  they  happened  to  be  seen.  To  the  hon- 
our of  the  females  of  the  United  States,  it  should 
be  said  that  they  have  given  no  encouragement 
to  Miss  Wright  or  her  doctrines.  You  might 
follow  her  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  ano- 
ther, and  you  will  not  find  that  she  is  protected 
by  any  portion  of  the  female  community.  It  is 
possible  that  now  and  then  one  or  two  women, 
either  careless  of  their  reputation,  or  urged  by 
insatiable  curiosity,  may  have  been  seen  among 
her  audience  ;  but  I  have  never  known  an  in- 
stance. The  females  of  the  United  States  are, 
in  general,  well  educated,  and  in  some  portions 
of  the  country  highly  so.  And  I  have  never 
known  more  than  a  half  dozen  female  infidels 
in  my  long  acquaintance  here. 


17 


LETTER   XVII. 


New- York,  ,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, 

HAVING  glanced  at  a  few  of  the  poets, 
perhaps  you  will  expect  me  to  say  something  of 
the  painters.  Those  who  have  passed  off  the 
stage  have  found  historians,  who,  if  they  have 
not  done  them  justice,  have,  certainly,  had  oppor- 
tunities to  speak  of  them  more  particularly  than 
I  can,  in  these  familiar  letters  to.<r  friend.  As  all 
artists  belong  to  a  nation  and  not  to  particular 
cities,  I  shall  not  take  any  pains  to  name  them 
with  any  territorial  reference,  any  farther  than 
as  citizens  of  this  qountry.  If  one  place  claims 
their  birth,  another  may  have  called  forth  their 
talents,  and  the  patron  is  often  better  to  an  ar- 
tist, than  a  parent. 

DUNLAP,  to  use  a  Yankee  phrase,  is  one  of 
those  artists  who  started  from  his  own  head.  He 
began  by  copying  some  prints  in  India  ink,  and 
then  proceeded  in  painting  portraits  in  Crayons. 


PAINTERS.  187 

In  1783  he  painted  General  Washington  and  his 
lady,  who  sat  to  him  at  head  quarters,  Rocky 
Hill,  New-Jersey,  when  the  self  taught  artist 
was  only  seventeen  years  of  age.  These  were 
so  much  extolled,  considering  the  youth  of  the 
artist,  that  in  1784  he  was  sent  to  England  to 
study  his  art,  and  on  this  adventure,  for  it  was 
indeed  a  great  one,  he  received  the  attentions  of 
Mr.  West.  On  returning  to  this  country,  in  1787, 
he  gave  up  his  profession  and  began  mercantile 
pursuits.  He  early  discovered  a  literary  taste, 
which  in  fact  is  almost  indivisible  from  a  taste  for 
painting.  In  1789  he  wrote  a  tragedy  ;  "  The 
Father  of  an  only  child."  This  was  brought  out 
immediately  and  was  very  successful.  This  led 
him  to  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  theatrical 
people,  who  induced  him  to  enter  into  dramatic 
speculations,  as  a  manager  and  author,  and 
which  ended  as  such  speculations  generally  do, 
in  the  loss  of  all  the  cash  a  man  has  when  he 
commences  ;  but  as  he  was  honest  and  honoura- 
ble, and  more  sinned  against  than  sinning,  he 
had  no  great  difficulty  in  settling  upy  and  begin- 
ning anew.  In  1808,  he  assumed  the  pencil  as 
a  miniature  painter,  and  followed  this  branch  of 
the  art  with  success,  but  was  induced  by  the 
friendly  offers  of  Cooper,  the  tragedian,  then  in 
the  zenith  of  his  fame,  to  take  a  department  in  the 
management  of  a  theatre  in  New- York  ;  but  af- 
ter two  or  three  years  he  grew  tired  of  that,  and 


188  PAINTERS. 

took  up  his  pencil  again  as  a  miniature  painter. 
Stuart  saw  the  cleverness  of  the  artist  and  ad- 
vised him  to  try  oil  ;  and  his  advice  was  follow- 
ed, and  with  great  success  ;  but  soon  after  this 
time  Dunlap  received  the  appointment  of  depu- 
ty pay  master  general  in  the  militia  of  the  state 
of  New- York.  It  was  a  busy  office,  as  the  troops 
were  in  arms  on  the  seaboard  and  frontiers,  and 
allowed  him  no  time  for  his  professional  pur- 
suits. In  1816,  he  returned  to  the  arts  he  had 
left,  and  from  which  he  had  so  often  played  tru- 
ant, and  commenced  anew,  with  youthful  vigour 
and  delight  and  has  ever  since  been  constant  to 
the  Muses. 

Since  that  time  he  has  been  most  industrious, 
and  besides  a  great  number  of  portrait  and  fan- 
cy pieces,  he  has  produced  four  great  histori- 
cal pictures.  The  first  was  Christ  disputing 
with  the  doctors  in  the  temple.  This  was  so 
much  admired  that  he  was  induced  to  try  his 
hand  again,  and  Christ  rejected  was  his  next. 
This  was  indeed  a  great  effort,  it  is  a  sublime 
subject.  The  great  masters  of  a  religious  age 
had  devoted  painful  years  to  scripture  delinea- 
tions, and  while  ponderous  tomes  of  divinity,  as 
it  is  called,  have  sunk  into  the  dust,  those  splen- 
did efforts  of  human  genius  have  survived  as 
models  and  lessons  to  this,  and,  will  descend,  to 
future  generations.  This  is  indeed  an  epic  la- 
bour ;  hundreds  of  figures  appear  on  the  canvass, 


PAINTERS.  189 

m 
and  most  of  these  full  of  history.     Dunlap  had 

never  seen  West's  great  picture  ;  he  had  only 
read  hig  outline.  It  is  quite  a  different  thing  in 
design,  and  a  judicious  critic  might,  we  think,  say 
that  in  many  points  of  his  picture  he  has  been 
quite  equal  to  that  great  master,  The  angelic 
composure  of  Christ  in  Dunlap's  picture,  has,  in 
my  mind,  as  much  truth  to  nature,  as  the  down, 
cast  countenance  of  "  the  man  of  sorrows,"  ex. 
hibited  in  West's.  We  prefer  to  see  his  divine, 
rather  than  his  human  nature,  in  every  exhibi- 
tion of  our  Saviour  ;  but  we  will  not  dwell  on 
this  or  any  other  point  in  the  picture ;  the  sub- 
ject  is  one  of  eternal  interest,  and  will  for  ever 
employ  the  pen,  the  pencil,  and  the  tongue  of 
fire  of  the  most  gifted  of  the  human  race.  The 
next  was  the  bearing  of  the  Cross  ; — this  was 
full  of  holy  feeling.  The  fourth  was  Death  on 
the  Pale  Horse.  West  had  done  the  same,  but 
we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  in  many 
points  Dunlap  has  the  advantage  of  West :  we 
mean,  particularly,. in  colouring.  The  fifth  Cal- 
vary ;  this  picture  is  all  original,  as  in  fact  the 
others  are  in  most  of  their  features.  It  was  a  re- 
mark made  by  an  American  lady  of  taste  which 
is  founded  on  truth,  that  the  more  we  see  of 
the  historical  pictures  of  the  great  masters  of 
Europe,  the  more  we  value  the  productions  of 
Trumbull,  Allston,  Dunlap,  and  others  we  have 
seen  brought  out  among  ourselves. 
17* 


190  PAINTERS. 

Dunlap  has  been  distinguished  as  an  author, 
aa  well  as  a  painter.  He  has  figured  in  biogra- 
phy as  well  as  in  the  drama.  He  was  admired 
among  the  scholars  of  an  age  gone  by,  and  is 
honoured  by  the  present,  as  a  man  of  genius 
and  of  taste,  and  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  keep  up 
with  the  march  of  improvement  at  this  time.  He 
has  reared  a  monument  to  Brown  the  novelist, 
to  Cook  the  tragedian,  and  to  others  of  less 
note.  May  he  be  rewarded  according  to  his 
deeds. 

SARGENT'S  picture  of  THE  LANDING  OF  THE 
PILGRIMS  was,  I  speak  in  the  past  tense,  for  1  un- 
derstand that  it  was  destroyed  by  some  accident, 
much  admired  in  its  day  by  the  descendants 
of  the  pilgrims,  and  spoken  well  of  by  those  who 
did  not  feel  any  extraordinary  sympathy  for  that 
race  of  men.  The  event  of  the  landing  of  those 
few  wanderers  had  nothing  in  it  of  very  great 
sublimity  or  interest  when  taken  by  itself,  un- 
connected with  the  past  or  the  future  in  relation 
to  that  period.  A  handful  of  adventurers  setting 
foot  on  an  inhospitable  shore,  in  an  inclement  sea- 
son is,  no  doubt,  a  subject  of  sympathy,  but  not 
of  wonder.  The  appearance  of  a  northern  sky 
in  such  a  season  of  the  year  was  a  fine  object 
for  the  painter,  and  Sargent  availed  himself  of 
it.  He  was  northern-born  and  had  lived,  for  the 
usual  months  in  the  year,  under  such  a  sky  as 


PAINTERS.  191 

our  forefathers  first  saw  on  their  first  landing,  a 
freezing  atmosphere,  rocks,  ground,  all  covered 
with  a  mantle  of  snow,  while  a  low  and  sickly 
looking  sun  threw  a  few  faint  rays  on  the  iron- 
bound,  frost-bound  coast.  The  dignity  of  the 
group  was  conspicuous  in  the  picture.  All  they 
had  suffered,  all  they  were  prepared  to  suffer, 
and  what  they  hoped  to  effect,  was  well  con- 
ceived and  defined  in  the  painting.  The  pious, 
providence -trusting,  resigned  look,  was  there 
also.  A  little  of  the  soldier  was  still  seen  in 
Miles  Standish — yea,  more  of  it  than  of  the 
saint.  The  females  were  well  displayed ;  not 
with  Amazonian  hardihood  and  fearless  look  ; 
but  yet  there  was  no  timidity,  no  shrinking 
weakness,  no  dread  of  the  savages,  nor  of  a 
more  appalling  foe  ;  a  long  and  dreary  winter, 
without  house  or  home,  or  any  shelter  for  them- 
selves or  their  little  ones.  They  stood,  they 
looked,  they  went  forward,  as  those  who  believe 
that  they  have  a  God  for  their  protector.  That 
painter  is  good  for  nothing  who  cannot  impress 
us  with  the  moral  sublimity  of  virtue,  and  give 
us  the  majesty  of  religion,  with  all  her  sweet- 
ness. There  is  a  spirit  of  prophecy  in  the 
hearts  of  the  good  in  every  undertaking,  which 
if  it  has  no  defined  views,  no  tongue,  but  only 
speaking  looks,  yet  it  lives  and  dwells  in  every 
vein,  and  kindles  in  every  eye,  and  has  full  pos- 
session of  the  soul,  as  certain  as  the  soul  has  an 


192  PAINTERS. 

existence  ;  and  the  painter  of  this  picture  had 
genius  enough  to  seize  the  thought  and  make 
the  best  of  it. 

The  next  picture,  from  the  same  artist,  was 
CHRIST'S  ENTRANCE  INTO  JERUSALEM.  This 
was  also  a  popular  picture.  It  was  remarkable 
for  variety  in  the  expression  of  the  countenance 
of  the  Hosannah- crying  multitude.  The  face  of 
the  Saviour  is  wonderfully  fine.  An  Indian 
chief  once  viewing  the  picture  in  the  presence 
of  the  author  of  these  remarks,  looking  stedfast- 
ly  in  the  face  of  our  Saviour,  said,  emphatically, 
that  is  a  good  man.  The  last  and  only  remain- 
ing picture  I  know  from  Sargent,  is  the  Dinner 
Party ;  a  specimen  of  the  extraordinary  power 
of  light  and  shade  ;  to  exhibit  which  seems  the 
great  object  of  the  artist  in  this  painting.  Sar- 
gent formerly  took  several  portraits  which  were 
praised  for  their  spirit  and  exactness. 

VANDERLYN'S  paintings  have  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  the  lovers  of  the  arts,  both  here  and 
on  the  other  side  of  the  water.  His  Ariadne  is 
an  exquisite  painting.  It  is  the  semblance  of 
enamoured  beauty,  in  dreaming  innocence.  The 
sleeping  princess  seems  to  glow  with  visions  of 
eternal  love,  while  her.  faithless  spouse  is  steal, 
ing  away  like  a  thief  from  the  shores  of  Naxos, 
and  tarnishing  by  his  perfidy  the  glories  of  his 
adventures.  Thirty  centuries  are  lost  in  con- 


PAINTERS.  193 

templating  this  picture.  The  mind  of  the  spec- 
tator  is  impressed  with  the  whole  scene  as  if  the 
present  was  the  precise  hour  of  her  desertion, 
and  feels  all  the  passion  of  love  and  grief  and 
resentment,  crowding  upon  his  heart,  as  he  ga- 
zes upon  the  sleeping  beauty ;  and  seems  to 
dread  that  she  should  awake  in  his  presence,  to 
realize  and  bewail  her  misfortunes,  before  he  has 
quitted  the  scene.  Such  is  the  power  of  the 
artist. 

Marius  on  the  ruins  of  Carthage  is  from  the 
same  hand.  The  savage  pride  of  the  great  Ro- 
man general,  nursing  himself  with  high  resolves, 
drawing  aliment  for  the  concentrated  energies 
of  his  soul  from  the  awful  ruins  around  him,  and 
looking,  feeling,  and  expressing,  by  his  very  si- 
lence, the  eternal  truth  of  the  indestructibility 
of  mind  ;  that  mind,  which  in  him,  no  misfor- 
tunes could  subdue* 

The  panorama  of  the  Garden  of  Versailles  is  a 
work  of  a  different  kind,  but  of  great  merit. 
Those  who  have  visited  the  place  say  that  the 
faithfulness  of  the  picture  is  admirable  ;  and 
certain  it  is  that  the  beauty  of  the  light  and 
shade  is  hardly  to  be  equalled.  This  painting 
has  been  exhibited  in  several  of  our  cities,  with 
great  success.  The  artist  is  now  engaged  in  a 
panoramic  view  of  the  falls  of  Niagara.  All 
former  attempts  to  convey  on  canvass  this  sublime 
scene  in  nature,  have  fallen  short  of  even  majea- 


194  PAINTERS. 

ty  ;  and  all  I  have  seen  did  not  show  any  of  that 
terrific  grandeur  which  belongs  to  the  subject. 
The  occasional  war  of  the  elements,  as  exhibited 
in  tornadoes  or  volcanoes,  have  often  been  suc- 
cessfully represented  by  the  pencil ;  but  such  a 
perpetual  display  of  the  wonderful  works  of  Om- 
nipotence, as  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun, 
and  the  eternal  agitation  of  the  ocean,  are  not 
within  the  capacities  of  the  painter.  By  great 
effort,  he  may  bring  to  your  own  recollection 
the  images  that  have  been  there  before  ;  but  his 
powers  add  nothing  to  them.  These  are  sub- 
jects for  the  muse  of  poetry,  not  of  painting ; 
and  if  his  attempt  is  successful,  in  any  conside- 
rable measure,  as  his  friends  say  that  it  will  be, 
he  will  have  added  to  the  capacities  of  his  art, 
and  secured  his  immortality. 

WASHINGTON  AILS  TON,  now  of  Boston  waa  a 
native  of  Carolina,  and  received  his  education 
at  Harvard  College,  where  he  graduated  in 
1800.  His  taste  led  him  to  think  of  painting  as 
a  profession.  Soon  after  leaving  college,  he 
hastened  to  Europe,  and  commenced  his  pupil- 
age with  the  zeal  of  youthful  genius.  In  the 
bosom  of  the  arts  he  became  known  as  a  man 
of  promise,  and  his  fame  often  came  across  the 
Atlantic  to  raise  the  expectations  of  his  country- 
men. They  were  not  disappointed  ;  he  return- 
ed with  a  mind  enriched  by  travel  and  obser- 


PAINTERS.  195 

vation,  without  any  diminution  of  his  character 
or  simplicity  of  his  manners.     In  Boston  he  sat 
down  to  his  profession,  and  every  production  of 
his  pencil  was  anticipated  with  painful  anxiety ; 
not  from  apprehensions  of  disappointment  in  the 
work,  but  from  the  intense  desire  of  being  grati- 
fied with  the  sight  of  his  productions.     He  is 
above  the  envy  of  his  compeers  ;   for  he  comes 
in  competition  with  no  one.     The  fashionable 
world  has  rto  charm  for  him,  and  he  is  never 
found  in   its  circles.     A  little   coterie  of  dear 
friends  is  his  passion,  and  his  hours  of  relaxation 
are  .spent  with  them;  but  in  these  hours  he  is 
exact  and  systematic.     It  is  true  of  him,  that  he 
flatters  no  one,  abuses  no  one,  nor  is  found  in 
the  train  of  any  one.     He  has  truly  an  inde- 
pendent mind,  without  one  particle  of  the  mo- 
roseness  which  often  accompanies  that  godlike 
virtue.     He  seeks  no  idol  of  the  day  for  patron- 
age and  praise,  nor  follows  in  the  train  of  a  reign- 
ing belle  to  catch  an  approving  smile,  which  on 
the  morrow  may  lead  others  to  seek  him  :  no, 
for  he  feels  a  security  in  his  own  fame,  that  re- 
quires no  such  momentary  aid ;  his  reputation 
will  be  increasing  when  the  politician's  fame  is 
blown  away  by  some  new  burst  of  infernal  smoke, 
and  the  beauty  is  no  longer  remembered.     He 
has  that  popularity  that  follows  merit ;  he  wants 
not  that  which  is  sought  for  by  conforming  to 
v  the  lights  and  shades  of  the  hour  ;  nor  did  Alls- 


196  PAINTERS. 

ton  ever  complain  for  want  of  patronage  ;  his 
productions  being  promised  as  soon  as  commen- 
ced. I  have  seen  but  three  from  his  pencil — 
Elijah  fed  by  the  ravens  in  the  wilderness — Jere- 
miah in  prison,  dictating  his  prophecies  to  Baruch 
his  scribe — and  the  dead  man  into  whose  grave 
the  body  of  Elijah  was  cast,  waking  into  life. 
These  have  been  seen  by  a  good  portion  of 
those  who  have  any  taste  for  the  fine  arts,  in  the 
several  great  cities  in  the  United  States,  and 
their  merits  thoroughly  examined.  The  first, 
Elijah  fed  by  the  ravens,  is  marked  by  the  boldest 
scenery.  The  Judean  mountains  seemed  fitted 
for  the  abode  of  prophecy.  It  is  more  natural 
and  more  sublime  to  place  the  voice  of  inspira- 
tion among  the  deep  caverns  and  strong  shades 
of  the  mountains,  than  by  fountains  or  caves  in 
the  sunny  fields  of  cultivation.  Allston  has 
caught  the  true  philosophy  to  nurse  his  genius 
by  the  perpetual  contemplation  of  those  scenes 
and  events,  in  the  revelations  of  God  to  man,  in 
which  the  power  of  God-head,  transcending  his 
natural  laws,  is  visible  and  unquestionable.  His 
two  other  works  are  of  the  same  class,  drawn 
from  the  same  source.  Such  a  cause  admits 
every  variety  of  talent  and  demands  every 
extent  of  power.  The  picture  of  the  hand 
writing  on  the  wall,  the  appearance  of  which 
has  long  been  expected  and  so  much  desired, 
is  of  the  same  character. 


PAINTERS.  197 

Until  within  a  few  years  past,  our  artists  had 
to  find  their  way  entirely  alone.  They  had  no 
concert,  no  associations  for  mutual  aid,  and  mu. 
tual  instruction  ;  they  had  no  place  for  the  ex- 
hibition  of  their  productions  ;  they  were  seen 
by  chance  ;  and  the  fame  of  most  of  the  paint- 
ers depended  upon  ignorant  admiration,  or  ill 
natured  criticisms,  even  perhaps  less  intelligent. 
Ordinary  reputation  will  always  be  local ;  but 
then  it  often  happened  that  those  of  a  higher  grade 
found  their  fame  not  more  extended,  and  proba- 
bly not  so  distinctly  allowed  when  it  was  known, 
as  those  of  no  solid  merits.  Academies  and  ex- 
hibition rooms,  which  have  been  got  up  in  our 
principal  cities,  within  a  few  years  past,  give 
the  youthful  aspirant  for  fame  a  chance  of  being 
known,  and  of  having  his  merits  justly  appre- 
ciated. In  New- York  an  Academy  of  Design  has 
been  established,  and  a  distinguished  artist  put 
at  the  head  of  it.  Mr.  Morse  has  been  known 
to  the  public  as  a  painter  for  some  years.  His 
Dying  Hercules  was  considered  a  good  speci- 
men of  drawing,  as  well  as  colouring.  He  has, 
like  many  of  our  painters,  been  chiefly  employ- 
ed in  taking  portraits  ;  but  his  taste  and  talent, 
I  should  think,  would  lead  him  to  historical 
painting :  but  what  was  more  immediately  in 
my  mind  is,  that  he  has  commenced  a  course  of 
lectures  on  his  art ;  the  first,  probably,  that  has 
been  undertaken  in  this  country.  From  what  I 
18 


198  PAINTERS. 

have  read  of  them,  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt 
of  their  utility  and  success.  He  matures  his 
subject  well,  and  gives  it  those  minute  finishings 
which  make  the  great  charms  of  the  writers  of 
the  classical  ages.  The  bold  truths  and  start- 
ling positions,  so  much  the  fashion  of  the  present 
age  among  men  of  genius,  will  pass  away  and 
be  forgotten,  when  the  more  natural,  and,  at 
first,  less  attractive  productions  of  taste,  will  be 
fresh  and  increasing  in  value.  The  polished 
lectures  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  will  ap- 
pear in  new  and  splendid  editions,  when  those 
of  Fusilli,  full  of  gigantic  throes  of  thought  and 
night-mare  figures  of  rhetoric,  will  only  be  found 
in  the  libraries  of  the  curious.  To  aid  Morse, 
there  came  many  young  men  of  merit.  A  word 
must  answer  for  them  ;  and  as  they  are  now  in 
the  glorious  career  of  emulation,  adding  to  their 
fame  every  passing  day,  this  course,  perhaps,  is 
best.  To  make  only  a  few  remarks  on  them,  is 
not  to  say  they  do  not  deserve  much ;  but  is  only 
saying  that,  as  yet,  they  are  striving  for  the 
mastery,  and  their  comparative  merits  are  not 
as  yet  decided. 

B.  W.  WIER  is  a  historical  painter,  he  spent 
some  time  in  Italy  in  pursuit  of  his  art,  with  a 
most  perfect  devotion  to  it.  He  is  delicate  and 
elaborate  in  his  finishings,  and  every  thing  from 
his  pencil  shows,  that  with  the  elements  of  a 


PAINTERS.  199 

great  painter  he  has  the  industry  that  ensures 
success.  In  colouring,  he  imitates  the  Venetian 
masters,  and  the  effect  is  often  delightful.  He 
is  yet  young,  and  the  country  has  much  to  ex- 
pect  from  him. 

C.  IXGHAM,  is  a  portrait  and  historicnl  pain- 
ter ;  he  has  made  many  fine  portraits  for  the 
exhibition  room.  His  colouring  is  admirable  ; 
his  finishing  finely  minute.  His  female  heads 
of  taste  and  fashion,  in  high  dress,  have  been 
the  admiration  of  men  of  judgment,  not  only  in 
this  city,  but  in  other  cities,  where  they  could 
not  have  been  influenced  by  the  social  and  vir- 
tuous qualities  of  the  individual.  The  talents  of 
the  artist  could  alone  have  been  the  foundation 
of  their  opinions. 

T.  C.  CuMMrxGS  is  a  miniature  painter,  and 
possesses  a  good  share  of  capacity  in  his  line  ; 
and  it  is  a  branch  of  difficult  attainment.  His 
sketches  are  full  of  life — mind  and  spirit  seems 
to  awake  in  his  most  shadowy  lines. 

H.  INMAN,  a  portrait  and  historical  painter,  is 
a  great  favourite  in  New-York.  He  is  not  more 
than  twenty-four  or  five  years  old,  and  yet  he  has 
attained  to  an  honourable  eminence  in  his  pro- 
fession. His  compositions  are  bold  in  design, 
and  happy  in  effect.  He  never  seems  to  think 


200  PAINTERS. 

of  a  difficulty  in  his  art,  and  seldom  does  he 
meet  one.  His  colouring  is  remarkably  fine, 
and  all  speak  of  him  as  full  of  still  greater  pro- 
mise, while  they  are  admiring  what  he  has  al- 
ready done.  This  is  unforced  praise  from  them, 
for  he  has  no  management  in  eliciting  admira- 
tion and  praise  ;  it  comes  from  his  labours  alone. 

A.  B.  DURAND  is  a  landscape  painter,  and 
would  be  very  clever  in  this  branch,  if  his  pre-em- 
inent talents  as  an  engraver  did  not  put  him  as  a 
painter,  in  the  back  ground.  His  productions  are 
in  every  work  of  standard  taste  and  talents  pub- 
lished in  this  country.  I  have  many  of  his  works 
in  my  mind  which  are  exquisite,  but  as  they  are 
not  before  me,  I  shall  refrain  from  my  criticisms 
for  fear  of  not  doing  justice  to  his  merits. 

G.  W.  HATCH  is  in  the  same  line  as  Durand, 
and  has  given  the  most  astonishing  proofs  of 
genius.  A  distinguished  artist,  on  seeing  some 
of  his  productions,  and  understanding  to  what 
age  he  only  had  attained,  observed,  "  I  know 
not  to  what  eminence  this  young  man  may  not 
aspire  if  his  life  is  spared." 

BENNET  is  one  of  this  gifted  society,  and 
uses  his  pencil  or  his  graver  as  occasion  re- 
quires with  ease  and  talent. 


PAINTERS. 

There  are  others  of  reputation  in  their  pro- 
fessions  who  may  not  be  connected  with  any  as- 
sociations for  the  improvement  in  the  arts.  Fro- 
thingham,  a  self-taught  artist,  is  an  excellent  por- 
trait painter,  who  has  laboured  along  with  every 
difficulty,  but  who  has  now  reached  a  stand  that 
will  insure  profitable  business.  He  began  his 
career  near  Boston,  where  Stuart  was  in  full  bu- 
siness, and  if  he  cannot  be  said  to  be  a  pupil  of 
that  great  artist,  he  certainly  has  caught  much  of 
his  manner.  The  public  have  been  gratified 
this  year  by  seeing  some  of  the  specimens  of  his 
pencil.  The  engravings  of  the  heads  of  Bishop 
Cheverus,  and  the  Rev.  Doctor  Channing,  with 
others,  have  given  Hoogland  an  enviable  repu- 
tation as  an  artist.  Indeed,  one  might  continue 
until  a  volume  might  be  written  on  the  works 
of  the  clever  artists  now  in  the  active  pursuit  of 
fame  and  emolument.  There  is  no  want  of  ta- 
lent  in  any  department  of  the  arts  or  sciences, 
or  in  any  walk  of  literature  in  this  country  ;  pa- 
tronage alone  is  wanted  to  fill  the  principal  ci- 
ties with  the  first  rate  proficients. 

So  much  has  been  done  for  the  advancement 
of  female  education  among  us  that  in  almost 
every  walk  of  life,  the  women  of  this  coun- 
try, have  claims  for  distinction.  We  have  named 
a  few  of  those  who,  possessing  a  good  share  of 
poetical  talent,  or  are  known  in  the  groves  of 
18* 


202  PAINTERS. 

learning  ;  we  will  mention  a  few  also  who  are 
distinguished  as  painters.  Our  ladies  are  as 
yet  mostly  amateurs,  a  few  only  have  made 
the  art  a  profession.  Among  the  amateurs,  and 
probably  first  among  them,  or  female  profes- 
sional painters,  is  Mrs.  L.  Russel,  formerly 
Miss  Smith,  daughter  of  B.  Smith,  Esq.  of  Bos- 
ton  ;  she  is  indeed  a  most  talented  woman,  but  I 
am  not  now  attempting  to  describe  her  general 
scope  of  intellectual  acquirements,  but  it  is  as  a 
oainter  only  I  mention  her.  She,  early  in  life, 
discovered  a  partiality  for  drawing,  and  instead 
of  always  copying  the  lessons  of  her  master,  she 
boldly  designed  for  herself,  to  the  admiration  of 
her  acquaintances.  A  long  residence  in  Eu- 
rope, particularly  in  France,  gave  her  fair  op- 
portunity of  improving  her  skill  and  refining  her 
taste  in  the  art. 

Some  copies  she  made  while  she  was  in  Eu- 
rope from  the  works  of  the  masters,  astonished 
the  modern  professors,  and  while  they  wondered 
at  her  production,  would  not  be  persuaded  that 
she  was  a  native  of  the  new  world,  and  not  one 
reared  in  the  bosom  of  the  arts.  She  has  taken 
several  fine  portraits  of  her  friends.  One  of 
John  Adams,  which,  allowing  for  a  little  of  the 
female  and  the  friend  which  is  thrown  into  the 
picture,  is  most  excellent,  and  certainly  the 
next  to  Stuart's  of  any  one  I  have  ever  seen  of 
this  venerable  patriot.  There  is  a  freedom  of 


PAINTERS.  203 

pencil  and  brilliancy  of  colouring  in  her  paint- 
ings rarely  equalled  in  this  country,  so  prolific 
in  painters  of  great  merit.  She  is  to  our  great 
painters  what  Lord  Lyttleton  was  to  Pope  among 
the  poets — an  amateur  and  proficient  of  exqui- 
site taste,  who  did  not  wish  to  rank  among  the 
poets  ;  this,  however,  was  forbidden  by  the  just 
laws  of  Parnassus,  and  he  was  put  in  the  cata- 
logue of  British  Bards,  so  must  she  among  the 
painters.  Had  Mrs.  Russel  continued  her  la- 
bours,  or  amusements,  call  it  what  you  please, 
we  too  should  have  had  an  Angelica  Hoffman. 

Miss  JANE  STTJART,  a  daughter  of  the  vete- 
ran painter  of  that  name,  early  discovered  marks 
of  genius  in  the  art.  She  had  made  considera- 
ble progress  in  her  studies  before  her  father  knew 
her  talent  in  this  way.  She  copied  her  father's 
paintings  as  often  as  she  had  opportunities,  and 
with  great  success.  Her  friends  persuaded  her 
to  attempt  original  pictures  ;  and  encouraged 
by  their  kindness  and  patronage,  she  ventured  to 
receive  now  and  then  a  sitter,  and  was  quite  suc- 
cessful. She  is  now  engaged  in  the  profession, 
and  discovers  much  of  her  father's  manner,  and 
no  small  share  of  his  spirit.  Encouraged  by 
the  munificent  and  intelligent  patrons  of  her  fa- 
ther, with  industry  and  patient  labour,  she  will, 
without  doubt,  be  a  first  rate  portrait  painter. 

Miss  GOODRICH,  of  Connecticut,  has  been  a 


204  PAINTERS . 

miniature  painter  for  several  years,  and  some  of 
her  likenesses  are  said  to  be  very  fine  ;  particu- 
larly  of  ladies.  She,  as  well  as  those  we  have  men- 
tioned,  is  an  estimable  woman,  as  well  as  a  fine 
artist.  In  addition  to  these  there  are  a  great  num- 
ber of  ladies  who  excel  in  landscape  and  ornamen- 
tal painting,  and  several  have  succeeded  in  Li- 
thographic drawing,  who  are  unwilling  to  make 
their  merits  known  to  the  public.  There  are 
branches  of  this  art  for  which  the  retired  life  of 
many  of  the  ladies  in  this  country  is  well  fitted 
to  cultivate,  and  as  the  country  grows  in  wealth, 
a  taste  for  the  fine  arts  will  increase,  and  then 
those  high  accomplishments  may  be  made,  when 
necessary,  a  source  of  emolument  far  greater. 


LETTER  XVIII. 


New- York,  ,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  WAS  yesterday  introduced  to  the  LY- 
CEUM of  this  city  by  one  of  its  principal  mem- 
bers, Dr.  De  Kay,  whose  urbanity,  intelligence 
and  devotedness  to  literary  and  scientific  pur- 
suits, are  well  known  in  this  city.  The  subjects 
of  natural  history  are  admirably  arranged,  and 
scientifically  classed  ;  but  as  you  are  much  bet- 
ter acquainted  with  all  these  matters  than  1  am, 
I  shall  hasten  to  the  authors  and  builders  of  these 
institutions  rather  than  dwell  on  the  minute  rela- 
tions of  their  extent  or  excellence. 

In  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  Lyceum  are  seve- 
ral large  cases,  marked  with  the  name  of  Doctor 
Samuel  L.  Mitchell,  which  is  as  familiar  to  you  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  as  with  us,  on  this  ; 
for  he  has  received  academic  honours  from  every 
literary  and  scientific  institution,  I  believe,  of 
note  in  the  world  ;  and  the  Doctor  himself  is  less 
understood  than  any  other  man  living.  Some 
have  laughed  at  him  as  a  credulous,  rhapsodical 
lover  of  learning,  but  without  much  true  science, 


206  DR-  MITCHELL. 

and  entirely  destitute  of  judgment  and  common 
sense.  Others,  and  particularly  those  in  fo- 
reign countries,  hail  him  as  the  most  learned  man 
in  America  ;  for  they  have  received  more  infor- 
mation from  him  than  from  others,  and  it  is  na- 
tural they  should  suppose  that  he  was  truly  at 
the  head  of  our  savans  and  literati.  The  Doc- 
tor has  analysed  every  thing  which  has  been 
brought  forward  for  nearly  half  a  century  past, 
in  matter  and  mind ;  and  he  cannot  complain 
if  he  should  now  be  analyzed  himself.  In 
that  part  of  his  character  which  assures  a  man 
true  respect  and  affection  from  those  around 
him,  a  kind  disposition  and  a  benevolent  heart, 
and  a  life  of  charitable  deeds,  the  Doctor  has 
nothing  to  fear  from  any  scrutiny.  But  to  com- 
mence as  the  moral  anatomist,  upon  his  capaci- 
ties, powers  and  organizations,  it  may  be  said 
that  his  memory  is  wonderful,  and  he  has  stored 
up  an  immense  accumulation  of  facts  in  every 
art  and  science,  and  every  incident  in  history  ; 
not  contented  with  this,  he  never  suffers  a  fact, 
or  circumstance,  which  he  has  taken  pains  to 
treasure  in  his  memory,  to  be  there  'alone  ;  but 
he  makes  a  minute  of  it  on  paper,  and  puts  that 
in  a  pigeon-hole,  to  answer  as  a  voucher  to  his 
memory,  if  that  should  fail  him,  or  be  doubted 
by  himself  or  others.  From  these  methods  he 
has  obtained  advantages  over  most  men,  in  fact, 
I  might  say,  over  any  one  I  ever  knew.  He  has 


DR.  MITCHELL.  207 

not  only  been  industrious  in  this  accumulation 
of  valuable  materials,  but  his  mind  has  been  ac- 
tive in  reasoning  upon  them.     He  is  happy  in 
great  quickness  of  perception,  and   falls  more 
naturally  into  a  train  of  correct  reasoning,  than 
those  who  labour  ever  so  hard  for  it.     He  de- 
scribes with  great  ease,  and  often  most  felici- 
tously.    If  his  style  is  sometimes  tainted  with  a 
little  vanity,  it  bears  no  marks  of  arrogance. 
It  is  true  that  he  never  feai's  to  meet  a  subject, 
however  novel,  and  it  is  true  that  he  seldom 
touches  one  without  giving  it  some  new  grace 
or  ornament.     He  is  equally  happy  in  giving 
names  as  characteristics.     A   monster  of  the 
ocean  unknown,  and  of  course  unnamed  by  an- 
cients or  moderns,  some  ten  years   ago   was 
caught  in  our  waters ;  the  Doctor  saw,  dissect- 
ed   it,    and   named  it   "  the   Vampire  of   the 
oceau ;"  and  I  challenge  the  lovers  of  Buffon  to 
produce  a  more  accurate,  lively,   and  philoso- 
phical description  in  all   that  admired  author's 
works,  than  was  given  of  this  anomaly.     The 
Doctor  is  called  credulous ;  indeed  he  is  ;  but 
his   is   not    the  credulity   of  wondering    igno- 
rance,  that  knowing  nothing,  believes   every 
thing  ;  whose  imagination  makes  hobgoblins  and 
"  chimeras  dire  ;"  and  fears  the  powers  of  fiends, 
because  he  knows  nothing  of  angelic  natures. 
The  Doctor's  credulity,  in  all  the  wonders  of 
creation,  is  like  that  charged  by  the  noble  Fes. 


208  DR.  MITCHELL. 

tus  upon  Paul — "  much   learning  makes  thee 
mad  ;"  by  which   madness  was  meant    an  un- 
bounded  credulity  in  believing  a  newly  promul- 
gated religion,  which  was  to  the  wise  a  stumbling 
block  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness.     The  Doc- 
tor's  credulity  arose  from  knowing  more  than 
other  men.     He  was  acquainted  with  the  laws 
of  nature,  and  knew  not  where  to  fix  her  bounds. 
He  saw  that  she  was  carrying  on  innumerable 
processes,  in  an  immense  laboratory,  and  could 
not  say  what  she  might  not  produce  next.     If 
he  who  knows  but  little  is  credulous,  he  who 
knows  much  is  more  so.     About  forty  years 
since,  a  wise  father,  whose  son  had  been  in  In- 
dia, heard  his  accounts  of  certain  religionists  of 
that  country,  suspending  themselves  with  hooks 
thrust  through  the  flesh  or  the  ribs,  and  swing- 
ing for  hours  in  the  air,  said,  "  My  dear  son,  I 
believe  your  narrative  fully,  because  you  have  been 
taught  to  tell  the  truth  ;  but  do  not  repeat  the  story, 
for  others  will  not  believe  you  ;  it  is  too  much  for 
them  to  credit ;  wait  a  while,  and  others  will  tell 
the  tale,  and  you  may  confirm  it ;  I  will  assure  you 
it  is  dangerous  to  be  a  discoverer ;" — and  the 
friends  of  Fulton  begged  of  him  not  to  persist  in 
his  speculations  on  the  use  of  steam  engines. 
Such  credulity  as  Dr.  Mitchell  possesses,  has 
been  the  promoter  of  all  that  is  useful  in  the  arts 
and   sciences.     Tecumseh    said   to   an  Indian 
agent,  "  You  tell  me  that  you  know  how  many 


DR.  MITCHELL.  209 

steps  it  is  round  this  earth,  and  you  never  crossed 
the  mountains  !  Tell  me  who  is  the  mother  of  all 
the  rivers  ;  how  deep  is  the  sea  ;  and  when  the  sun 
will  grow  old,  and  die,  like  my  forefathers  ;  I  mil 
then  believe  that  you  can  tell  me  how  long  my  arms 
must  be  to  embrace  my  mother  earth."  The  agent 
replied,  "  I  can  tell  you  when  yon  moon  shall 
hide  her  head,  and  become  dark  ;  and  you  will 
see  the  darkness  come  on ;  and  all  yon  tribes 
shall  see  it  also."  The  wondering  savage 
seized  the  thought,  and  bought  the  secret ;  fore- 
told the  eclipse  to  his  followers  ;  this  increased 
their  confidence  in  him ;  the  eclipse  happened  ; 
his  fame  was  established  ;  and  he  threatened  the 
agent  and  astronomer,  from  whom  he  obtained 
the  secret,  with  death,  if  he  was  not  out  of  his 
reach  forthwith.  The  moral  is  at  hand  ;  ma- 
ny a  one  has  availed  himself  of  the  Doctor's 
information,  calculations,  and  conjectures,  and 
tried  to  hide  his  own  ignorance  in  abusing  the 
source  from  whence  his  knowledge  flowed. 
There  is  a  vanity,  however,  in  human  nature, 
which  the  good  Doctor  has  a  share  of;  that  is, 
a  desire  of  having  a  reputation  for  knowing  al- 
most all  things ;  yet  it  must  be  confessed,  that 
the  Doctor's  manner  is  modest  enough. 

The  Doctor  has  been  charged  with  enthusi- 
asm.    He  is  enthusiastic  ;  but  it  is  that  ardour  of 
mind  that  wishes  to  raise  the  standard  of  know- 
ledge above  what  it  is  in  this  country,  which 
19 


210  DR.  MITCHELL. 

is,  indeed,  a  pardonable  enthusiasm.  Nothing 
good  or  great  was  ever  achieved  without  it.  It 
is  the  "  divine  inflation"  which  swells  the  bo- 
soms  of  the  gods  of  knowledge,  when  they  la- 
bour  for  the  sons  of  men. 

The  Doctor  is  not  only  credulous,  inquisitive, 
enthusiastic,  but  ambitious.  He  wishes  this  coun- 
try to  be  the  first  on  earth,  and  himself  the  first 
in  the  country.  This  is  fair  ;  and  if  he  fails  in 
either,  after  having  made  the  struggle  to  bring 
about  his  wishes,  who  will  say  that  the  attempt 
was  not  a  noble  one  ?  Give  us  more  such  ambi- 
tious men  as  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  such  credu- 
lous ones  as  Columbus  and  Fulton,  and  you  may 
cover  them  with  the  names  of  enthusiasts,  dupes, 
and  insane  men,  and  every  other  epithet  that 
ignorance  and  dulness  can  pick  up,  or  mouth, 
after  some  disappointed  rival  has  once  spoken  it. 

There  is  another  sin  the  Doctor  has  long  been 
guilty  of ;  and  that  is,  the  sin  of  perseverance 
in  attempting  to  enlighten  mankind,  after  scio- 
lists and  fops  have  satirized  him  for  attempting 
to  make  them  wise.  This  is  a  "grievous  of. 
fence,"  and  one  that  can  never  be  forgiven, 
while  envy  has  so  much  sway  among  men. 

If  any  one  denies  the  Doctor  taste  and  sci- 
ience,  let  him  go  and  view  his  cabinet  of  curi- 
osities, and  see  the  order  and  beauty  of  his 
arrangement.  Every  thing  in  its  place,  from 
the  butterfly  and  humming-bird,  caught  on  the  sum- 


DR.  MITCHELL.  211 

mer  flower,  to  the  tooth  of  the  mastodon,  the 
horns  of  the  elk,  and  the  brick,  coming  all  the 
way  from  Babylon,  to  the  meteoric  stone  coming 
from  God-knows-where,  and  then  ask  him  if 
there  is  not  taste,  science,  skill,  patience,  and 
much  that  should  make  a  great  philosopher  in 
Dr.  Mitchell's- cabinet. 


LETTER    XXX. 


Boston,  ,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  AM  now  in  Boston,  the  metropolis  of 
New-England.  It  answers  my  expectations,  in 
most  respects,  and  in  many  instances,  far  ex- 
ceeds them.  The  city  has  improved  since  I 
visited  it  in  former  years.  The  buildings  are 
of  a  convenient  kind,  and  many  of  them  elegant. 
No  seventy  thousand  people  on  the  globe  are 
better  lodged,  or  from  what  I  see  of  the  market, 
and  public  and  private  tables,  better  fed.  The 
people  are  mostly  of  one  descent  from  the  first 
settlers  of  the  country,  and  have  about  them  all 
the  marks  of  their  ancestors ;  nor  are  these 
characteristics  of  this  people  confined  to  this 
city,  every  part  of  the  commonwealth  have 
the  same.  The  city  of  Boston  abounds  in 
public  schools  of  the  first  order.  The  poor 
share  with  the  rich  the  blessings  of  education. 
The  city  boasts  of  ample  public  libraries  ;  and 
private  ones  are  more  numerous,  and  better 
chosen  than  can  be  found  in  any  other  city  in 
this  country  ;  and  perhaps  I  might  venture  to 


BOSTON.  213 

say  in  any  other  in  the  world.  The  police  is 
excellent.  The  streets  are  clean,  and  all  things 
show  a  well  regulated  community.  The  affairs 
of  state  are  managed  by  a  numerous  assembly 
of  representatives  who  are,  generally  speaking, 
highly  intelligent  men ;  if  in  the  multitude  of 
counsellors  there  is  safety,  this  state  cannot  suf- 
fer, or  be  in  danger. 

The  College  Halls,  within  three  miles  of  the 
city  are  ancient  and  noble  edifices.  This  uni- 
versity dates  its  origin  nearly  as  far  back  as  the 
foundation  of  the  city.  The  men  as  you  walk 
the  streets  have  that  solemn  determined  look, 
which  their  fathers  had  when  they  came  out  in 
open  warfare  with  the  mother  country,  and  un- 
questionably are  as  brave  as  they  were,  with 
much  more  intelligence.  On  the  Exchange  are 
to  be  found  the  old  fashioned,  honest  merchant, 
with  the  bustling,  modern,  brokering  speculator. 
The  courts  of  justice,  have  the  respect  and  con- 
fidence of  the  people  ;  and  when  it  is  said,  "  the 
Supreme  Court  have  so  decided,"  all  conflicting 
opinions  cease,  and  the  rule  laid  down  by  them 
becomes  absolute.  They  venerate  the  laws 
and  are  ready  to  protect  the  court  on  any  occa- 
sion. The  high  places  of  the  judgment  seats, 
and  even  those  of  minor  power,  have  on  gene- 
ral been  well  filled,  for  public  opinion  would 
not  tolerate  any  but  good  talents  and  of  unques- 
tionable probity  on  the  bench  for  any  length  of 
19* 


214  BOSTON. 

time.  The  volumes  containing  the  reported  de- 
cisions of  their  Supreme  Court,  have  been 
thought  well  of  in  England,  and  1  have  heard 
arguments  from  lawyers  in  this  city  that  would 
do  honour  to  the  fierce  Brougham  or  to  the 
straight  forward  Scarlet. 

Every  profession  has  its  learned  men  in  this 
place,  and  many  of  them  of  true  merit  in  socie- 
ty. Although  this  state  first  began  the-  revolu- 
tionary war,  they  have  but  little  rebellious  mat- 
ter about  them.  They  are  all  as  quiet  as  any 
community  I  ever  saw,  under  their  own  govern- 
ment. Three  years  before  the  contest  for  in- 
dependence closed,  the  people  had  made  them- 
selves a  constitution,  and  form  of  government ; 
which  was  in  most  of  its  features  a  model  for 
many  other  states'  constitutions.  John  Han- 
cock, the  first  signer  of  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence, was  their  first  governor.  He  was  a 
man  who  filled  a  great  sphere  in  society,  and  has 
left  an  imperishable  name  for  his  country's  his- 
tory. He  was  in  the  chair  of  the  commonwealth, 
except  one  year,  from  1780  until  his  death  in 
1792.  The  learned,  philophical  Bowdoin  filled 
the  chair  of  the  commonwealth,  that  year.  It 
was  this  year  that  this  state  had  to  crush  an  in- 
surrection  that  threatened  to  subvert  the  gov- 
eminent.  Samuel  Adams,  who  was  a  patriot, 
and  should  have  been  called  the  Inflexible,  was 
his  successor.  A  good  and  a  great  man  succeed- 


BOSTON.  215 

ed  him,  Increase  Sumner,  who  was  as  just  as  he 
was  amiable.  Caleb  Strong  was  chosen  after 
him.  He  came  from  the  interior  of  the  state, 
a  wise,  shrewd,  catious  man,  who  was  a  fair 
representative  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  country, 
who  were,  as  wise  as  serpents,  and  as  harmless  as 
doves.  He  was  sudceeded  in  1807  by  James 
Sullivan,  a  bold,  energetic  chief  magistrate;  who 
was  strongly  opposed,  at  his  coming  in,  by  a 
powerful  party,"but  died  in  less  than  two  years, 
having  gained  by  his  upright,  and  independent 
administration  the  confidence  of  most  of  his  con- 
stituents. In  1809  Christopher  Gore,  a  well 
bred  politician,  ;  scholar  and  a  gentleman,  was 
his  successor.  In  1810  Elbridge  Gerry,  who 
had  been  an  efficient  member  of  the  state  legis- 
lature in  1775,  and  a  member  of  the  continen- 
tal congress  afterwards,  and  had  been  conspicu- 
ous in  both  bodies,  was  the  successful  candidate. 
He  administered  the  affairs  of  the  commonwealth 
for  two  years,  and  Strong  came  again  into  pow- 
er, and  held  the  chair  during  the  war.  The 
gallant  General  John  Brooks  was  his  successor. 
His  popularity,  as  a  revolutionary  officer  was 
paramount  to  all  political,  or  party  feelings,  and  of 
course  he  was  the  governor  of  the  people.  To 
him  succeeded  Doctor  Eustis,  a  man  who  had 
served  in  a  medical  capacity  for  several  years  in 
the  revolutionary  war,  had  been  a  member  of  Con- 
gress  from  Massachusetts,  and  afterwards  Secre- 


216  BOSTON. 

tary  of  War  in  the  general  government.  The 
whole  of  this  group  were  great  men  ;  they  had 
enemies  as  well  as  friends  ;  but  all  had  done  the 
country  some  service,  and  each  had  high  claims 
for  the  office,  and  they  were  men  of  whom  their 
opponents  were  proud.  Some  of  them,  it  is 
true,  came  into  power  in  the  spasms  of  party ; 
but  the  Commonwealth  had  not  descended,  as 
many  others  had,  to  take  up  men  of  sixth  rate 
minds,  or  come  so  low  as  to  fill  the  chair  of 
state  with  the  spawn  of  political  apathy.  Mas- 
sachusetts  then  considered  her  governors  as 
holding  only  the  second  office  in  the  country ; 
and  after  having  filled  this,  they  would  not  ac- 
cept of  any  other.  Changes  come  over  every 
people.  Sometimes  they  oppose  those  they  are 
proud  of ;  at  other  times,  support  those  they  are 
ashamed  of.  The  Athenians  were  an  enlight- 
ened people,  but  as  volatile  as  intelligent.  At 
one  time  they  ostracised  those  of  political  in- 
tegrity, and  prostituted  their  honours  by  lifting 
into  high  places  those  loose,  spongy,  declaiming 
demagogues,  of  whose  want  of  political  virtue 
every  one  was  aware,  even  in  the  midst  of  his 
infatuation.  These  things  will  happen.  A 
sleeping  lion  will  suffer  a  slimy  lizard  to  crawl 
over  his  nose,  or  hang  on  the  majesty  of  his 
mane. 

The  soil  of  Massachusetts  is  a  hard  one,  and 
will  not  allow  any  idleness  in  the  cultivation  of 


BOSTON.  217 

it.  Industry  has  made  it  productive  and  valua- 
ble. The  intelligence  of  the  people  has  turned 
every  rood  of  land  to  advantage,  and  if  it  does  not 
support  its  man,  it  supports  precisely  that  for 
which  it  was  made.  Massachusetts  is  a  land  of 
hills,  and  of  many  streams  of  water ;  nature 
pointed  out  the  place  for  a  manufacturing  coun- 
try ;  and  notwithstanding  the  disasters  which 
have  befallen  this  interest,  throughout  New- 
England,  it  will  still  be  a  manufacturing  coun- 
try, and  equal  to  the  wants  of  the  market. 

This  people  are  struggling  to  keep  the  fore- 
most rank  in  the  literature  of  the  country,  and 
are  establishing  town  and  county  Lyceums  for 
the  diffusion  of  knowledge.  These  are  most 
admirable  institutions  ;  for  they  offer  the  ambi- 
tious not  only  an  opportunity  to  acquire  know- 
ledge, but  also  to  display  it.  The  antiquities  of 
the  country  are  sought  for,  and  the  time  is  near 
at  hand  when  a  correct  history  of  it  will  be 
written  by  some  of  their  enterprising  literary 
people. 

For  the  happiness  of  the  whole  there  was  too 
great  an  inequality  of  property  ;  but  this  evil 
will  not  last  long :  in  fact  the  overgrown  for- 
tunes have  found  an  agrarian  law  in  overdoing 
the  manufacturing  business.  This  business  will 
fall  into  other  hands ;  the  second,  third,  and 
minor  classes  of  wealthy  men,  have  taken  the 
place  of  the  primary  classes,  and  all  will  go  on 


218  BOSTON. 

harmoniously,  and  strictly,  if  not  so  lucratively 
as  formerly. 

The  whole  of  New-England  abounds  in  a 
wholesome  population,  full  of  industry  and  intel- 
ligence. She  has  also  some,  yea,  many  great 
men.  She,  with  other  parts  of  the  country,  has 
committed  mistakes  in  her  policy,  but  she  has 
a  defence  for  most,  or  all  of  them.  The  East, 
North,  and  South,  had  many  things  to  learn, 
and  not  a  small  part  of  them  was  a  better  ac- 
quaintance with  each  other.  New-England  has 
produced  a  large  number  of  patrons  of  learning, 
and  they  still  abound  here.  Names  might  be 
mentioned  that  would  answer  to  be  placed  along 
side  of  the  great  friends  of  learning  in  every 
age  ;  but  as  her  own  historians  have,  or  should 
long  since  have  given  their  deeds  to  the  reader, 
I  shall  close  by  saying  that  I  have  packed  up  a 
box  of  books  relating  to  their  history,  manners, 
habits,  and  schools,  their  possessions,  their 
hopes,  their  every  thing,  and  shall  leave  you  to 
read  for  yourself. 


XiETTER  XX, 


Boston, '—,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, 

WHEX  I  was  here  some  years  since,  I 
by  accident,  in  a  mail  coach,  become  acquaint- 
ed with  a  singular  man  of  the  profession  of  the 
law.  He  was  witty,  profligate  ;  not  "  thin,  but  fat, 
jolly,  and  infinitely  amusing.  On  my- return,  I 
inquired  for  him,  alas !  he  was  not  here,  but  al- 
though I  knew  it  was  not  reputable  to  be  seen 
with  him,  yet  I  felt  it  as  a  disappointment  to  find 
that  he  had  gone  the  way  of  all  the  earth.  Ex- 
pressing my  wish  to  know  something  of  his  his- 
tory, a  friend  put  a  manuscript*  in  my  hand  from 
which  with  his  consent  I  have  extracted  the  fol- 
lowing account ;  if  it  is,as  interesting  to  you  as 
he  was  to  me,  I  shall  be  paid  for  transcribing  it. 
The  Maxim  "  De  mortuis  nil  nisi  bonum," 
"  say  nothing  of  the  dead  but  what  is  good,  has 
wisely  been  changed  to  "  De  mortuis  nil  nisi 
verum."  But  even  the  truth  should  not  be  told 
at  all  times,  if  it  casts  a  shadow  over  the  grave  ; 
for  the  dead  cannot  defend  themselves.  It  is 
far  better  that  the  pall  of  oblivion  should  be 


220  BARTLET. 

thrown  over  the  errora  of  sinful  man,  than 
that  they  should  be  exposed,  unless  their  expo- 
sition may  serve  as  a  beacon  and  a  warning  to 
those  who  may  come  after  us.  To  drag  into 
public,  what  was  done  in  private,  is  wrong  ;  but 
those  who  filled  every  act  of  the  drama  of  life 
as  public  men,  who  enacted  every  thing  for  no- 
toriety  and  effect,  and  whose  deeds  had  an  in- 
fluence on  society,  are  fair  subjects  of  examina- 
tion, and  animadversion.  They  must  have  ex- 
pected this  when  living,  and  their  friends  cannot 
complain  of  it  when  they  are  gone.  There  are 
those  who  must  be  held  out  for  us  to  shun,  as 
well  as  those  exhibited  for  us  to  imitate  ;  detest- 
ation for  vice  is  nearly  allied  to  a  love  of  virtue. 
As  much  may  be  learned  from  the  reckless  pro- 
fligacy of  Anthony,  as  from  the  severe  virtues  of 
Cato  ;  and  from  the  life  of  Caesar  Borgia,  as 
from  that  of  Pius  VII.  In  our  young  communi- 
ty, we  have,  in  'general,  buried  every  thing  in 
the  grave  ;  and  tread  lightly  over  the  ashes  of  the 
dead,  hardly  daring  to  repeat  the  maxim,  "  No 
good  man  weeps  when  gifted  villains  die  :"  But 
the  welfare  of  society  demands  that  this  injudi- 
cious modesty  be  overruled  ;  and  truth,  bold, 
distinct,  and  naked,  when  it  can  do  good,  should, 
unhesitatingly,  be  brought  forth.  It  is  abso- 
lutely idle,  and  in  fact,  next  to  ridiculous,  to 
show  a  shrinking  delicacy  about  one  who  never 
had  exhibited  any  regard  for  himself  or  for 


BARTLET.  221 

others.  It  may  be  said  thai  the  living  should 
be  regarded,  if  the  dead  are  not.  This  is  right, 
to  a  certain  extent ;  but  not  to  a  very  great  one. 
The  innocent  child  should  not  be  distressed  by 
premature  remarks  upon  his  parents,  nor  the 
aged  parent  agonized  by  a  display  of  the  vices  of 
the  child.  There  should  be  discretion  in  all 
things  ;  but  the  subject  of  this  sketch  died  child- 
less, and  his  parents  are  no  more,  and  probably 
there  is  not  one  living  to  whom  a  full  develop- 
ment of  his  character  would  give  a  pang;  for  if 
his  profuseness  made,  for  a  while,  any  impres- 
sions upon  the  minds  of  the  grateful,  his  dupli- 
city and  deceptions  wiped  them  all  away  ;  and 
they  can  hear  of  him  as  of  men  for  whom  they 
had  no  regard,  or  never  knew. 

JOSEPH  BARTLET  was  born  at  Plymouth,  the 
landing  place  of  the  Pilgrims,  about  1763.  His 
parents  were  highly  respectable,  among  the 
moral  and  intelligent  of  that  exemplary  people. 
He  was  sent  to  Harvard  College,  and  graduated 
in  1783.  He  had  a  highly  respectable  standing 
as  a  scholar  in  his  class,  as  is,  in  some  measure, 
proved  by  his  being  one  of  the  three  to  whom 
the  charter  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  was 
sent  by  the  Alpha,  then  existing  at  William  and 
Mary  College,  Virginia,  for  the  University  at 
Cambridge.  He  early  attained  that  wretched 
notoriety  which  has  injured  so  many  young  men 
in  college — the  reputation  for  wit  and  excentri. 
20 


222  BARTLET. 

city.  The  gay  gather  round  such  a  man,  to  join 
in  the  amusement,  and  the  grave  and  sober  now 
and  then  relish  a  good  thing  from  him  ;  and  it 
must  be  remembered,  that  the  age  in  which  he 
came  forward,  was  not  remarkable  for  its  sobrie- 
ty, or  reverence  for  holy  things.  The  country 
was  indeed  engaged,  at  that  time,  in  a  great 
struggle, — one  on  which  hung  the  destinies  of 
the  nation  ;  but  any  man  acquainted  with  human 
nature,  knows  that  great  exertions  of  this  kind 
produce  every  evil  fruit  in  morals  and  manners. 
The  elements  of  society  were  in  a  measure 
afloat,  during  the  revolutionary  war,  and  parti- 
cularly at  its  close. 

Bartlet  left  his  Alma  Mater  the  year  of  the 
peace,  1783  ;  and  every  thing  was  in  doubt  and 
confusion.  The  brave  were  resting  from  their 
toils,  thinking  they  had  done  their  share  of 
the  great  work  ;  and  were  willing  that  others 
should  commence  their  labours.  At  such  a  fa- 
vourable moment  for  confusion,  the  demagogues 
who  had  been  silent,  when  there  was  any  danger, 
now  raised  their  voices  at  every  corner,  and  in 
every  high  place,  to  excite  the  turbulent  against 
order  and  moderation.  Bartlet  issued  from  the 
halls  of  his  college  to  join  in  the  full  cry  of 
liberty  and  equality,  with  those  who  intended  to 
profit  byupro  ir  ;md  confusion.  He  was  well  cal- 
culated to  assist  in  raising  the  whirlwind ;  but  had 
no  talents  or  disposition  to  aid  in  directing  the 


BARTLET.  223 

storm.  Bartlet  was  soon  conspicuous  among 
the  vulgar  and  the  riotous ;  for  he  had  a  ready 
elocution  that  caught  the  shallow,  who  were 
contented  with  any  specious  arguments,  when  it 
was  in  consent  with  their  wishes.  He  was  at 
such  times  more  than  a  match  for  men  more 
powerful  in  argument  than  himself,  for  his  ready 
wit  never  failed  him,  when  he  found  it  in  vain 
to  reason  ;  and  in  any  contest  he  seldom  failed 
to  get  the  laugh  on  his  side  ;  and  this  is  much 
in  a  dispute  now,  and  was  more  then.  At  this  pe- 
riod of  life  he  was  an  open  infidel,  and  this  was 
thought  by  some  as  being  a  mark  of  a  great 
mind.  The  loose  in  principle  wanted  a  witty 
leader,  one  who  had  the  capacity  of  using  pro- 
fligate satire  and  indecent  ribaldry  in  their  cause, 
against  the  decent  and  pious.  They  had  a  man 
in  Bartlet.  on  whom  they  could  rely.  The  reli- 
gious had  long  been  unaccustomed  to  be  dis- 
turbed in  their  opinions  :  they  had,  it  is  true, 
quarrelled  a  little  about  points  ;  but  had  seldom 
been  assailed  at  all  points  ;  and  they  hardly 
knew  what  to  rrfake  of  it,  when  they  were  bold- 
ly attacked  in  their  very  citadel.  The  pious 
were  alarmed  at  this  course,  and  shuddered  at 
his  attempts  to  make  shipwreck  of  their  faith ; 
while  the  free  thinker  enjoyed  it,  and  made  him 
a  much  greater  man  in  point  of  intellect  than  he 

really  was. 

Soon  after  leaving  college,  he  went  to  Sa- 


224  BARTLET. 

lem,  to  study  law  ;  and  in  the  mean  time  to 
teach  a  school.  He  could  not  have  spent  much 
time  in  this  place,  for  he  was  not  at  all  suited 
for  that  latitude.  They  are  a  quiet,  thinking 
people  in  Salem,  and  were  not  prepared  for  such 
opinions.  At  this  time,  many  of  our  young  men 
were  taking  a  voyage  to  England,  and  Bartlet 
thought  he  would  go  likewise  ;  and  without  much 
preparation  he  set  sail.  This  was,  indeed,  an 
adventure.  He  had  no  object  in  view,  except 
to  see  if  he  could  bring  his  wit  and  convivial 
talents  to  a  market.  In  this  he  in  a  degree  suc- 
ceeded. 

From  the  opulent  Americans  around  him  he 
obtained  supplies  for  the  present,  and  trusted  to 
chance  for  the  future. 

One  night  when  Bartlet  was  in  the  Theatre 
in  London,  a  play  was  going  on,  in  which  his 
countrymen  were  ridiculed,  I  believe  it  is  one 
of  General  Burgoyne's  plays  ;  a  number  of  re- 
bels had  been  taken,  and  brought  into  the  Brit- 
ish camp  ;  on  the  inquiry  being  made  about 
their  occupations,  I  believe  the  play  says  'pro- 
fessions,' before  they  became  soldiers,  the  an- 
swer was,  although  many  of  them  were  officers, 
that  they  were  of  different  callings  ;  some  were 
barbers,  some  tailors,  some  tinkers,  &e.  at  this 
moment  Bartlet  rose  from  his  seat  in  the  pit, 
and  cried,  "  hurra !  Great  Britain  beaten  by 
barbers,  taylors  and  tinkers!"  The  effect  was 


BARTLET.  125 

wonderful.  John  Bull  took  it  all  in  good  part ; 
and  many  of  the  Bloods  of  the  day  introduced 
themselves  to  him  :  and  he  made  the  best  of  the 
occasion.  Those  who  were  pleased  with  his 
boldness,  soon  became  enamoured  with  his  wit. 
He  had  no  restraint  upon  moral,  political  or  re- 
ligious grounds  in  saying  any  thing,  and  his 
manners  were,  when  he  chose,  gentleman- 
ly, and  very  fascinating  ;  and  he  for  awhile 
was  quite  a  lion  in  a  certain  circle  ;  he  was  as- 
suredly distinguished  wherever  he  went.  The 
Bucks  of  London  at  that  time  supposed  that 
Americans  were  savages,  and  were  surprised  to 
find  one  who  had  been  caught,  tamed,  and  in  their 
view,  somewhat  polished.  He  was  sought  after 
and  petted,  and  in  good  faith  they  found  that  he 
had  seen,  before  the/  saw  him — a  hand  of  cards. 
He  often  boasted,  that  this  time  he  had  frequent 
meetings  with  Fox,  and  Sheridan,  and  is  this 
unlikely  ?  But  Bartlet's  maxim  of  "  carpe  di- 
em," would  not  suffer  him  long  to  be  even  a 
fortunate  gambler ;  he  was  too  sensual,  and 
luxurious  for  that ;  soon  as  his  purse  was  full, 
the  society  of  the  table,  took  precedence  of  all 
others.  He  had  no  legitimate  hold  on  society, 
but  like  the  moss  on  the  rock  clung  to  it  by  sic- 
city  or  saturation,  until  blown  off,  and  there, 
fore  it  is  not  wonderful  that  he  should  have 
found  hi  mself  in  prison  after  a  season  of  drought 
and  showers.  Here  he  groaned  and  cursed 
20* 


236  BARTLET. 

awhile  ;  but  found  that  such  a  course  did  not 
do  any  good,  and  he  set  his  wits  to  work  to  get 
out  of  confinement.  For  this  purpose  he  wrote 
a  play,  which  has  since  perished  with  ten  thou- 
sand others,  but  this  was  a  novelty  ;  a  play 
from  an  American  !  This  provided  him  a  sum 
sufficient  for  his  release.  His  former  friends, 
he  has  often  said,  gave  it  a  character  it  did  not 
merit. 

The  particulars  of  this  event  he  would  never 
precisely  acknowledge  ;  but  met  every  inquiry 
•with  his  usual  escape, — some  facetious  remark. 

From  London  he  set  his  face  towards  Edin- 
burgh, and  there  under  an  assumed  name  went 
on  the  stage,  and  as  Mr.  Maitland,  enacted  sev- 
eral parts  in  genteel  comedy  ;  and  if  his  own 
account  of  himself  may  be  taken,  was  quite  suc- 
cessful. He  prided  himself  in  being  at  home 
in  Belcour  in  the  West  Indian,  and  in  all  prob- 
ability, at  that  time,  he  had  some  qualifications 
for  the  part.  His  histrionic  career  was  not 
long  ;  he  was  too  fond  of  society  to  study  enough 
to  make  an  actor,  if  nature  had  fitted  him 
through  industry,  to  have  become  one.  He 
soon  grew  tired  with  this  way  of  life,  and  has- 
tened back  to  London,  after  one  season,  and 
made  an  acquaintance  with  the  mercantile  clas- 
ses, who  were  then  in  a  rage  to  fill  the  United 
States  with  goods ;  and  strange  as  it  may  seem 
by  his  specious  representations,  and  their  anx- 


BARTLET.  /    337 

iety  to  sell,  he  procured  a  large  credit.  These 
were  probably  insured  in  London,  and  perhaps, 
the  creditors  did  not  suffer  much,  for  the  vessel 
in  which  Bartlet  was  returning  with  his  gooda, 
was  cast  away  on  cape  Cod,  and  was  lost,  with 
the  bulk  of  her  cargo. 

There  is  an  anecdote  connected  with  this 
shipwreck  quite  characteristic  of  Bartlet.  On 
the  voyage  he  had  been  constantly  descanting 
on  his  favourite  topic,  the  theme  of  the  French 
philosophers,  "  the  eternal  sleep  of  the  grave, 
and  the  recuperative  force  of  matter,"  and 
that  he  was  ready  to  take  up  his  march  at  a 
moments  warning  ;  but  when  the  vessel  struck 
the  shore,  he  discovered  the  most  cowardly  anx- 
iety for  his  safety,  and  when  asked  what  had 
become  of  his  philosophy,  and  contempt  of 
death  ?  like  Falstaff,  he  evaded  the  subject  by 
saying  "  that  it  is  not  that  I  fear  to  die ;  but  I 
should  dislike  to  be  found  dead  in  such  a  dreary 
place,  as  the  back  of  cape  Cod."  There  is  noth- 
ing more  amusing  than  to  trace  the  selfishness 
of  those  of  his  school  who  preach  disinterested 
benevolence.  This  patriot  and  champion  for 
the  new  philosophy,  took  care  to  get  to  the  shore 
as  soon  as  possible,  leaving  the  gentlemen  of 
old  fashioned  principles  to  assist  the  female  pas- 
sengers in  making  their  escape. 

On  his  arrival  at  Boston  he  formed  a  copart- 
nership in  business  as  a  merchant,  and  again  left 


228  BARTLET. 

his  country  for  England.  He  again  obtained  a 
very  considerable  credit  for  his  firm,  which  soon 
failed  ;  but  how  much  he  was  to  blame  in  this 
I  never  could  discover. 

Tired  with  trade,  he  returned  to  his  first  in- 
tention of  studying  the  law.  While  engaged  in 
reading  his  profession,  the  insurrection  of  Dan- 
iel Shays,  and  his  party  took  place,  and  the 
troops  of  the  lower  counties  in  Massachusetts, 
were  ordered  to  march  to  suppress  it.  Rein- 
forcements were  soon  wanting,  and  volunteer 
companies  were  raised  in  Boston  and  the  vicin- 
ity, and  Bartlett  was  chosen  to  command  one  of 
them.  He  told  them  so  much  of  his  prowess, 
that  they  thought  him  a  great  military  cheiftain. 
Captain  Bobadil  could  not  have  said  more  of 
himself.  He  took  up  his  line  of  march  from 
Boston  to  Springfield  ;  but  two  hours  after  he  had 
left  the  town  of  Boston,  he  was  ordered  to  re- 
turn, for  the  insurrection  was  quelled  and  tran- 
quillity established.  On  this  news  the  captain 
of  the  train-band  made  a  speech,  rcgreting  that 
he  and  his  brave  followers,  had  not  had  an  op- 
portunity of  showing  their  courage  ;  -and  closed 
his  harangue  by  saying,  that  he  had  not  the 
slightest  doubt,  that  Shays  had  retreated  on 
hearing  that  he  was  coming  with  his  brave  com- 
pany. 

On  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  opened  his  of- 
fice at  a  town  called  Woburn,  within  a  dozen 


BARTLET.  229 

miles  of  Boston,  and  here  began  his  career  as  a 
wit,  a  lawyer,  and  a  politician.  Never  was  there 
a  better  demagogue.  He  harangued  in  the  grog 
shops,  and  at  the  town  meetings  ;  and  at  all  times 
had  the  power  of  setting  the  mob  in  a  roar  ;  and 
sober  men  too,  if  within  bearing,  found  him  irre- 
sistible. His  aim  was  first  to  attract  attention 
and  then  to  assail  his  audience  through  the  me- 
dium  of  their  vanity,  and  then  to  direct  them 
when  they  were  excited,  to  a  spirit  of  faction 
and  misrule.  As  odd  as  Jo  Bartlet,  was  soon  a 
by  word.  He  had  painted  his  house  black,  and 
caled  it  "the  coffin,"  and  the  passers-by  stared, 
inquired,  and  wondered  what  sort  of  a  man  this 
Jo  Bartlet  could  be.  In  a  few  years  he  moved 
to  Cambridge,  the  half- shire  of  the  county  of 
Middlesex. 

Here  was  a  wider  field  for  the  display  of  his 
talents,  than  he  had  found  in  a  small  town  ;  not 
that  he  expected  or  wished  to  associate  with  the 
literati  at  Harvard  university.  The  faculty  had 
no  love  for  such  a  man  ;  his  politics,  his  religion, 
or  rather  his  want  of  any  religion  ;  and  all  his 
opinions,  and  habits  were  not  to  their  taste  ;  but 
he  knew  that  he  should  gain  popularity  by  an- 
noying them,  that  is  the  only  popularity  with  the 
only  class  of  people  he  ever  expected  to  secure, 
the  profligate  and  lawless.  By  some  manage- 
ment he  got  himself  selected  as  poet  for  the  an- 
niversary celebration  of  the  Phi  Bella  Kappa.  In 


230  BARTLET. 

this  production  he  indulged  his  spleen  against 
some  of  the  professors  of  that  institution.  This 
was,  however  severe,  the  best  production  of  his 
pen  that  is  extant.  There  is  poetry,  taste  and 
no  little  splendour  in  this  work,  however  un- 
just or  sarcastic  it  may  be. 

In  all  the  domestic  concerns  of  the  college,  he 
strove  to  have  a  part.  At  every  quarter-day  he 
watched  the  poets  and  the  performances  of  every 
kind,  and  gave  his  biassed  and  partial  opinions 
to  the  world,  through  the  medium  of  the  press. 
This  was  indeed  dreadful ;  for  these  candidates 
for  fame  imagined  their  own  little  world  to  be 
all  the  world ;  but  the  public  newspaper  taught 
them  otherwise  ;  and  they  found  the  critic  was 
after  them,  before  they  had  trusted  themselves 
to  the  press.  By  these  attacks  on  the  quarterly 
performances,  Bartlet  often  felt  the  resentment 
of  the  scholars,  and  had  but  few  or  none  to  sup- 
port him ;  but  he  made  mischief,  and  that  was 
pleasant  to  him. 

He  invited  a  few  of  the  scholars  to  his  table, 
and  kept  a  small  party  in  his  train,  who  drank 
his  wine,  and  who  were  sure,  while  in  his  favour, 
that  he  would  violate  every  thing  like  justice,  to 
make  them  conspicuous.  He  joined  in  every 
little  college  feud,  for  the  love  of  confusion  and 
uproar.  The  town  of  Cambridge  was  agitated 
by  party  violence,  and  in  the  whirlwind  he  now 
and  then  was  thrown  up  to  public  notice,  and 


BARTLET.  231 

succeeded,  more  than  once,  in  obtaining  a  seat 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  general 
court ;  but  he  had  no  weight  in  that  body  ;  the 
materials  of  that  assembly  were  not  much  affect- 
ed by  his  wit,  or  in  the  least  guided  by  his  poli- 
tical opinions  ;  still  he  enjoyed  it ;  for  his  ele- 
ment   was    a    rancorous    opposition.     At    the 
Courts  he  was  not  more  respected  than  in  the 
Legislature  ;  for  he  mixed  himself  up  with  his 
clients,  who,  in  general,  were   harlots,  rogues, 
and  knaves,  of  every  size  and  grade.     He  amu- 
sed those  he  did  not  benefit ;  and  spunged  all  by 
one  piece  of  management  or  another  ;  and  this 
class  often  find  means  to  pay  counsel  when  they 
seem  extremely  poor.     Such  a  man  as  Bartlet 
wears  badly  in  any  place  ;  and  he  found  his  po- 
pularity,  such   as  it  was,   declining  :  with  the 
honest  he  had  but  little  communion,  and  with 
the  bad  he  was  out  of  favour,  for  they  found  he 
had  no  weight  with  a  jury  ;  and  often  his  repu- 
tation, and  his  clients'  together,  ruined  a  pretty 
fair  cause.     It  was    time  for  him,  to  use   his 
own    expression,  "  to  see   new  faces."     From 
Cambridge  he  removed  to  Saco,  in  the  province, 
now  state  of  Maine.    In  this  place  he  began,  with 
fresh  vigour,  the  same  course  he  had  pursued 
at  Cambridge,  as  to  politics  and  law.     He  ob- 
tained credit  sufficient  to  erect  a  good  house, 
and  seemed,  for  a  while,  flourishing,  particular- 
ly in  politics.     He  was  sent  a  senator  from  the 


232  BARTLET. 

county  of  York,  to  the  Legislature  of  Massa- 
chusetts. In  this  body  he  was  courted  for  his 
own  vote,  perhaps,  but  never  carried  a  single 
one  by  his  arguments  or  his  eloquence  ;  but  it 
is  thought  he  assailed  some  propositions  with 
success,  by  the  force  of  his  ridicule  ;  but  this 
more  often  deters  the  modest  from  doing  good, 
than  the  bold  from  doing  evil ;  but  ridicule  is  no 
test  of  truth,  at  any  time.  The  next  year  found  him 
an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  the  same  office ; 
but  this  did  not  discourage  him  ;  his  patriotism 
burned  so  conspicuously,  that  his  partizans  put 
him  in  nomination  for  Congress,  and  he  was  so 
active  with  his  pen  and  tongue  in  electioneering 
for  himself,  aided  by  his  followers,  that  he  run 
nearly  equal  with  his  opponent,  having,  at 
the  close  of  the  polls,  within  half  a  dozen 
votes  as  many  as  the.  successful  candidate. 
Some  of  his  political  writings  of  that  period 
had  some  pungency,  and  no  little  satire  in 
them  ;  yet  they  went  to  decay  and  oblivion 
with  the  autumnal  leaves  of  the  year ;  but 
at  that  time  they  were  blown  about  and  spread 
abroad,  as  thickly  as  the  thistle  down,  over 
the  fields  and  gardens,  and  gave  considera- 
ble alarm  to  the  sound  and  virtuous  politicians  of 
the  day.  The  demagogue,  a  happy  circum- 
stance for  morals,  gives  his  breath  to  the  winds, 
and  its  first  influence  is  generally  the  worst. 
Even  the  rancorous  words  of  politicians  com- 


BARTLET.  233 

mitted  to  the  periodical  press  are  soon  forgotten. 
Junius  may  be  stated  a*  .in  exception  ;  but  this 
only  proves  the  rule.  At  this  day  the  opinions 
of  that  great  writer  pass  for  nothing,  and  his  ma- 
lice would  be  condemned  if  it  had  not  been  em- 
balmed  in  so  felicitous  a  style  ;  a  style  as  full  of 
genius  as  beauty.  The  folds  of  the  serpent  are 
preserved  to  accompany  and  account  for  the 
writhings,  the  agonies  and  griefs  of  the  Laocoon- 
tes  ;  but  the  very  reptile  which  adds  to  the  won- 
derful  effect  of  the  group  would  be  turned  from 
with  instinctive  disgust,  if  it  had  been  chiselled 
out  alone,  or  by  an  ordinary  hand.  By  his  im- 
prudence and  waywardness,  he  was  at  length 
broken  up  here,  also.  His  power  over  the  mul- 
titude was  every  day  diminishihg,  and  his  chance 
of  political  advancement  nearly  gone,  when  he 
removed  to-  Portsmouth,  in  New-Hampshire. 
In  this  place  he  had  some  business,  and  some 
influence  for  a  while,  owing  to  the  party  spirit 
which  then  agitated  the  community  ;  but  the 
sagacious  people  of  that  town  had  formed  a 
pretty  just  estimate  of  his  character,  and  he 
made  no  progress  in  political  life,  and  with 
difficulty  found  means  to  support  himself  as  a 
citizen.  His  clients  were  of  the  same  grade  in 
New-Hampshire  as  his  clients  had  been  in 
other  places  ;  but  even  this  class  of  clients  soon 
discovered  that  their  advocate  must  have  some 
standing  in  society  to  do  any  good  in  court ; 
21 


234  BARTLET. 

and  they  turn  from  such  men  as  Bartlet,  after 
some  experience,  to  find  men  of  influence  to  as- 
sist  them.  At  this  time  he  had  depreciated  as 
a  man  of  talents,  his  stories  had  been  told  a 
hundred  times,  his  flashes  of  wit  were  less  fre- 
quent, and  he  often  attempted  to  make  up  in 
scurrility  what  was  wanting  in  acuteness.  From 
day  to  day  he  grew  more  irregular  in  his  habits, 
and  more  careless  in  his  person,  and  of  course 
he  was  neglected  by  many,  who  once  from  cour- 
tesy associated  with  him  ;  and  the  good  people 
of  Portsmouth  were  heartily  tired  of  him  long 
before  his  departure  from  the  place  ;  and  at 
length  hired  him  to  go,  by  agreeing  to  take 
a  certain  number  of  tickets  for  some  recita- 
tion which  he  proposed  to  give.  This  literary 
exhibition  was  beneath  contempt,  but  secured 
him  a  handsome  sum  of  money,  for  so  slight  a 
labour.  Bartlet  lingered  in  Portsmouth  a  while, 
until  his  money  was  nearly  or  quite  exhausted, 
and  then  set  out  for  Boston.  Here  he  opened 
his  office  ;  but  very  few  clients,  however,  found 
their  way  to  it ;  and  those  few  were  miserable 
wretches,  who  came  for  a  writ  for  an  assault  and 
battery,  or  some  such  grievous  matter,  and  from 
whom  he  could  only  squeeze  a  few  dollars.  In 
this  situation  he  became  a  tax  to  his  friends,  or 
rather  on  those  who  had  known  him  in  his  early 
days,  or  had  become  acquainted  with  him  in  the 
various  paths  he  trod  in  life ;  and  such  was  the 


BARTLET.  235 

liberality  of  the  community  in  which  he  lived, 
that  the  amount  received  by  him,  if  it  had  been 
prudently  expended,  would  have  supported  him 
in  all  the  necessaries  of  life  ;  but  who  ever 
knew  such  a  man  with  a  particle  of  even  fore- 
thought ?  His  principal  reliance  was  on  the 
members  of  the  Suffolk  bar,  but  others  assisted 
freely,  and  particularly  the  benevolent  Mrs. 
F****,  whose  husband  kept  a  public  house  in  the 
city.  She  was  the  most  judicious  of  all  those 
who  gave  him  succour  ;  and  to  her  he  was  al- 
ways obedient  and  respectful ;  and  his  regard 
for  her  judgment  was  the  only  proof,  for  a  long 
while  before  he  died,  that  he  was  not  lost  to  eve- 
ry correct  principle  of  conduct.  Bartlet's  case 
is  not  the  only  instance  of  her  good  sense  and 
liberality  to  the  unfortunate.  Never  was  a  more 
judicious  philanthropist  than  this  good  woman, 
nor  one  that  did  so  much  with  the  same  means  ; 
for  she  is  as  discriminating  and  prudent  as  she 
is  charitable.  For  six  or  seven  years  Bartlet 
went  on  in  this  way,  until  he  died  in  1827  ;  and 
his  exit  was  a  relief  to  all  around  him.  The 
death  of  such  a  man  gives  no  one  the  heart- 
ache, or  causes  a  tear  to  be  shed. 

When  we  sum  up  the  whole  matter  of  the  life 
of  such  a  man,  we  find  it  amounts  to  little  ;  no 
one  has  been  made  wiser,  or  happier  by  him ; 
and  his  whole  existence,  with  all  its  evils,  does 
not  furnish  sufficient  of  incident  or  variety,  to 


236  BARTLET. 

point  a  moral  or  adorn  a  tale.  A  wit  is  indeed 
"  a  feather ;"  and  the  smart  things  said  any 
where,  are  echoed  but  once  or  twice,  and  then 
given  to  the  winds.  The  wit  of  Bartlet  was  in 
general  neat  and  tasteful  ;  and  if  it  had  not  been 
allied,  like  Voltaire's,  to  infidelity,  it  would  have 
gained  him  more  fame  than  it  did.  Some  of  his 
flashes  of  witty  resentment  showed  so  much  of 
heartlessness,  that  the  listener  shuddered  at  the 
blasphemy,  while  he  could  not  refrain  from 
laughing,  at  the  moment,  at  the  singularity  of  it. 
What  can  there  be  so  evanescent  as  wit  ?  for 
although  the  writer  of  this  brief  sketch  has 
heard  many  of  his  witticisms  from  Bartlet  him- 
self,  and  others,  yet  he  has  suffered  them 
to  pass  from  his  memory,  as  the  recollection 
of  them  would  be  productive  of  no  good  ;  but 
in  justice  it  should  be  said,  that  Bartlet  has 
never  published  any  thing,  with  his  name,  that 
has  an  immoral  tendency.  His  poem  on  phy- 
siognomy delivered  before  the  Phi  Betta  Kap- 
pa, at  Harvard  university,  was  evidently  intend- 
ed as  a  satire  on  particular  individuals,  and  like 
most  satires  contains  many  exaggerations  ;  yet 
there  is  nothing  in  it  offensive  to  morals,  or 
manners,  and  considering  the  state  of  poetry  at 
the  time  in  which  it  was  written,  is  a  very  fair 
poem  in  regard  to  the  'talents  it  discovers.  It 
had  something  of  his  spiteful  disposition  in  it, 
but  none  of  that  outrageous  slander  that  he  was 


BARTLET.  237 

every  day  breathing  out  in  his  intercourse  with 
society.  At  a  later  period  he  wrote  a  book  of 
aphorisms  that  are  well  enough,  but  the  produc- 
tion cannot  be  said  to  have  any  great  share  of 
originality  in  it.  After  the  proverbs  of  Solomon  ; 
Rochefaucalt,  and  those  of  the  Spanish  writers 
down  to  Sancho  Panga,  there  seems  but  little  to 
glean  in  aphoristic  literature. 

In  the  writings  attributed  to  him  which  ap- 
peared from  time  to  time,  twenty  or  thirty 
years,  ago  there  was  much  of  vituperation  and 
false  reasoning  ;  but  it  is  very  seldom  that  truth 
is  found  in  party  accusation  or  defence,  and  he 
never  had  even  a  sense  of  decency  to  restrain 
him,  to  say  nothing  of  principle.  In  his  wri- 
tings as  well  as  in  his  conversation  a  most  ma- 
licious spirit  was  evident  when  he  was  in  the 
least  offended.  He  raved  at  the  rich  because 
he  felt  his  own  poverty,  he  sneared  at  the  pru- 
dent because  he  knew  that  he  was  destitute  of 
all  economy  ;  he  ridiculed  the  learned,  for  he 
was  too  indolent  to  store  his  mind  with  useful 
knowledge  ;  and,  like  many,  he  affected  to  de- 
spise what  he  had  not  industry  to  obtain.  He  re- 
lied  in  middle  life,  and  in  old  age  on  the  acquire- 
ments of  his  youth,  which  were  respectable,  but 
the  starved  mind  soon  discovers  its  deficiencies 
and  weakness.  He  that  does  not  sow  and  reap, 
in  seed  time  and  harvest,  and  that  on  every  sea- 
son, will  soon  deal  out  straw  and  chaff  for 
21* 


238  BARTLET. 

sheaves,  and  provender.  As  his  head  grew 
more  empty  his  heart  grew  more  rotten,  for  the 
time  must  be  filled  up  with  something  ;  and  when 
emulation  ceases  envy  must  come  to  fill  every 
void  of  the  heart.  All  the  good  kind  men  did 
him  produced  only  a  momentary  impression,  and 
his  gratitude  was  a  mere  transient  matter  of 
sunshine,  while  his  resentments  were  rancour- 
ous  and  lasting.  The  heart  and  the  head  fre- 
quently become  diseased  together.  In  his  times 
of  distress  he  attempted  to  poise  himself  on  his 
philosophy  ;  but  it  was  a  shallow,  cold,  heartless, 
infidel  philosophy,  destitute  of  hope  or  enthusi- 
asm, and  which  could  only  be  supported  by  hu- 
man pride.  It  was  that  bravery  whose  parent 
is  cowardice,  and  which  prefers  the  impulses  of 
desperation  to  the  dictates  of  a  deliberate  judg- 
ment, that  gave  the  semblance  of  energy  to 
any  part  of  his  conduct.  The  empire  either  of 
wit,  or  of  any  other  power,  mental,  political,  or 
adventitious  soon  passes  away,  unless  the  most 
strenuous  exertions  are  made  to  maintain  and 
extend  it.  The  wit  which  once  "  set  the  table  in 
a  roar,"  loses  its  point  by  repetition,  and  the 
laugh,  once  so  contagious  that  the  gravest  could 
not  resist  it,  after  a  while  becomes  "  stale,  flat, 
and  unprofitable,"  Fashion  is  every  thing,  but 
fashion  soon  passes  away,  or  rather  changes 
her  form,  for  she  is  truly  eternal  in  spirit,  and 
power ;  and  the  joke  that  was  once  racy  and 


BARTLET.  339 

piquant,  after  awhile,  becomes  dull  and  ceases 
to  attract  attention,  and  the  sentimental  or  na- 
tional song,  takes  its  place.  Foot  was  some- 
times tedious,  and  Sheridan  maudlin,  prosaic  and 
intolerable ;  and  they  tired  their  companions 
even  when  their  talents  were  brought  to  a  bet- 
ter market  than  Bartlet  could  find  in  this  coun- 
try  for  his. 

An  imprudent  man  frequently  under  the  ap- 
pearance of  carelessness  and  great  liberality, 
is  selfish  and  exclusive,  and  often  attempts  to 
put  down  the  claims  of  justice  by  an  assumption 
of  generosity  ;  and  the  complaints  of  a  large 
creditor,  for  his  total  loss,  are  drowned  in  the 
abundant  thanks,  and  noisy  gratitude  of  some 
recipient  of  a  slight  benefaction.  There  is  no 
particle  of  resentment  or  malice  in  the  remarks 
I  have  made  on  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  nor 
any  wish  to  keep  his  failings  alive.  The  sketch 
was  made  to  show  the  young  the  vanity  of  a 
reputation  for  wit,  and  the  folly  of  struggling  to 
be  thought  a  genius,  unless  industry,  and  ex- 
panded feeling  are  allied  to  distinguished  powers 
and  happy  gifts.  Of  Bartlet  the  world  may 
speak  freely,  for  his  father  has  long  since  gone 
down  with  sorrow  to  the  grave,  and  the  wife  of 
his  youth  was  obliged  to  desert  him  when  ten. 
derness  and  affection  had  become  strangers  to 
his  bosom  ;  and  he  left  no  child  to  blush  at  his 
father's  failings.  If  the  dead,  not  claimed  by  re- 


240  BARTLET. 

lations  or  friends,  may  be  taken  by  common  con- 
sent  to  the  theatre  of  the  anatomist  for  the  pub- 
lie  good,  surely  the  character  of  one  whose  life 
may  serve  to  warn  us  of  the  dangers  incident 
to  our  journey  from  youth  to  the  grave,  or  teach 
us  to  shun  the  vices  of  society  as  we  pass  on,  is 
common  property  for  the  moralist  or  sermoni- 
zer.  If  there  was  any  thing  in  such  a  life  to 
attract  attention,  there  was  nothing  to  secure 
respect.  No  mourner  followed  his  hearse,  no 
poet  sung  his  dirge,  and  where  rest  his  ashes 
no  one  will  inquire.  So  pass  away  the  profli- 
gate and  the  unprincipled. 


LETTER   XXI. 


Boston,  -,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  HAVE  not  had  sufficient  leisure  to  exe- 
cute that  part  of  your  commission  which  relates 
to  those  distinguished  men  of  the  United  States 
who  have  just  gone  off  the  stage.  They  are  not 
numerous,  as  the  old  revolutionists  are  falling  like 
autumnal  leaves,  and  those  of  the  next  genera- 
tion begin  rapidly  to  follow";  of  the  first  class 
much  has  been  said,  of  the  second  but  little,  for 
there  has  not  been  much  time  to  think  of  their 
merits.  And  perhaps  it  is  not  best  to  say  much 
about  them  now,  as  there  is  a  revolution  taking 
place  in  the  public  mind,  and  it  may  be  well  to 
wait  until  this  has  become  settled.  Men  were 
estimated  according  to  their  offices,  the  people 
are  becoming  wise,  and  they  will  be  estimated 
according  to  their  merits.  I  have  sketched  one 
you  inquired  after,  general  Brown,  and  the  oth- 
ers I  send  you,  are  well  known  to  me. 

The  physical  force  of  the  army  of  the  United 
States  is  nothing.  A  few  thousand  troops  are 
to  be  found  at  the  different  forts  and  canton. 


242  GEN.  BROWN. 

merits  along  the  seaboard  and  frontiers ;  the  plan 
pursued  i  think  is  admirable.  They  support  of- 
ficers  and  not  soldiers.  These  officers  are  men 
of  intellect  and  good  morals  and  instead  of  gov- 
erning men,  which  would  afford  them  no  oppor- 
tunity of  improving  their  minds,  they  are  enga- 
ged in  scientific  pursuits  and  are  serviceable  to 
the  country  by  making  its  topography  known  to 
all  sorts  of  people.  In  case  of  war  men  can  be 
raised  and  disciplined  in  a  short  time  under  skil- 
ful officers.  The  last  war  gave  sufficient  evi- 
dence of  American  bravery,  but  there  was  a 
lack  of  well  informed  officers.  There  were  men 
among  them  of  great  talents,  and  who  managed 
well,  but  even  these  would  acknowledge  that 
there  were  but  few  scientific  officers  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war,  and  that  the  army  suf- 
fered much,  for  the  want  of  them.  Although  it 
sometimes  happens  that  circumstances  create  the 
necessary  talents  for  the  occasion,  yet  it  is  much 
better  to  have  men  acquainted  with  all  that  has 
been  done  in  war  or  peace  ready  for  service. 
Among  those  men  who  have  started  up  at  the 
moment  they  are  wanted,  and  act  their  part 
with  honour,  was  the  late  major  general  Brown. 
He  began  life  with  the  peaceful  tenets  of  a  qua- 
ker,  and  pursued  the  unobtrusive  employment  of 
a  teacher  of  youth.  For  some  time  he  was  not 
aware  of  the  spirit  that  was  within  him,  but  at 
length  he  saw  the  sun  rise  and  set,  while  he  was 


GEN.  BROWN.  243 

in  the  same  dull  round  of  humble  duty,  and  the 
thought  came  over  him  that  he  was  destined  for 
something  of  a  more  active  nature.  In  1799 
he  went  on  to  the  frontiers  and  purchased  a  lot 
of  land,  took  his  axe,  and  began  to  fell  the  for- 
rest  with  his  own  hand,  in  order  to  commence  a 
settlement.  This  was  soon  done  ;  he  purchased 
more  land  ;  and  was  made  Agent  for  M.  Le  Roy 
de  Chaumont,  a  distinguished  Frenchman  who 
owned  a  large  tract  of  that  country,  and  was  in- 
dustrious in  obtaining  settlers,  and  when  he  had 
enough  for  a  company  of  militia  they  were  form- 
ed, and  he  so  far  shook  off  the  quaker  as  to  take 
the  command  of  them,  at  their  urgent  request. 
From  the  command  of  a  company  he  soon  found 
himself  at  the  head  of  a  regiment  and  from  that 
office,  at  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  1812, 
he  was  raised  to  a  major  general,  and  when 
the  militia  were  first  called  upon  to  assist  the 
regular  troops  on  the  frontiers,  his  name  had 
hardly  reached  head  quarters  at  Washington  ; 
but  such  was  his  promptness,  efficiency  and 
success,  that  the  general  government,  not  a  little 
embarrassed  at  the  previous  disasters  in  that 
quarter,  proffered  him  a  high  command  in  the  ar- 
my of  the  United  States.  It  was  accepted  and 
he  moved  on  from  one  degree  of  fame  to  anoth- 
er in  this  short  war,  until  he  found  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  army,  and  at  the  return  of  peace 
he  made  his  head  quarters  at  Washington,  and 


244  «EN.  BROWN. 

remained  there  until  his  death  in  1828.  Ge- 
neral Brown  was  considerably  above  the  com- 
mon  height,  over  six  feet.  His  countenance 
was  a  fine  assemblage  of  regular,  good  sized 
features,  which  most  admirably  expressed  his 
striking  characteristics,  mildness  and  determina- 
tion. He  had  nothing  in  his  manners  of  that 
importance  and  vanity  which  often  accompanies 
a  self-made  man  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  was  for 
ever  on  the  watch  to  gain  something  new.  He 
was  well  aware  of  his  early  deficiencies  as  a 
military  man,  as  any  one  would  be  ;  and  he  took 
the  advice  of  those  in  whom  he  had  confidence, 
and  weighed  it  in  a  sound  balance ;  and  of  course 
was  seldom  wrong.  If  he  was  not  the  master 
spirit  of  the  army,  he  was  well  calculated  to  be 
at  its  head,  he  managed  all  so  gently,  and  im- 
partially. He  was  as  much  esteemed  in  pri- 
vate as  in  public  life.  In  the  social  circles  at 
Washington,  he  thought  nothing  of  that  pride  of 
office  so  common  with  little  men  ;  but  was  affa- 
ble to  all.  The  public  deeds  of  such  men  will 
find  historians  enough  in  every  future  age  ;  but 
we  should  see  on  the  records  of  the  present 
hour,  something  said  of  their  private  virtues. 
These  gems  of  Kfe,  though  lasting  as  eternity, 
are  often  buried  in  the  dust  at  the  base  of  the 
pyramid  of  a  great  man's  fame.  Brown  was  a 
general  of  a  primitive  cast ;  he  emulated  anti 
quity  ;— 


WILLIAM   TUDOR.  245 

C(  Have  you  not  heard  of  Lacedoemon's  fame? 
Of  Attic  chiefs  in  Freedom's  war  divine? 
Of  Rome's  dread  generals?  the  Valerian  name  ? 
The  Fabian  sons?  The  Scipio's  matchless  line? 
Your  lot  was  theirs.     The  farmer  and  the  swain 
Met  his  loved  patron's  summons  from  the  plain; 
The  Legions  gathered  ;  the  bright  eagles  flew ; 
Barbarian  monarchs  in  the  triumph  mourned, 
The  conquerors  to  their  household  gods  returned, 
And   fed   Calabriau  flocks,  and  steered   the  Sabine 
plough." 

The  United  States  has  recently  met  with  a 
loss  in  the  death  of  the  Hon.  WILLIAM  TUDOR, 
late  charge  d'  affaires  to  the  Emperor  of  Brazil, 
from  this  country.  Mr.  Tudor  was  born  in  Bos- 
ton,  in  1777.  He  graduated  from  Harvard 
College  1796 ;  and  although  very  young,  was 
among  the  first  scholars  of  his  class.  Soon  af- 
ter leaving  college,  he  travelled  in  Europe,  and 
acquired  a  great  fund  of  useful  knowledge,  with- 
out  contracting  the  slightest  touch  of  that  man- 
ner  which  so  often  marks  the  travelled  youth  on 
his  return  to  his  native  country.  "  Sirs,  I  have 
seen,  and  sure  I  ought  to  know,"  was  no  part  of 
his  manners.  It  must  be  confessed,  that  he  re. 
turned  to  his  native  city,  warm  and  bright  from 
all  the  lovely  retreats  of  learning,  and  enlight- 
ened from  the  halls  of  science,  and  brought  with 
him  the  noble  ambition  of  attempting  to  make 
his  countrymen  turn  their  attention  to  literature 
and  science,  and  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  the  arts. 
22 


246  WILLIAM  TUDOR. 

For  this  he  changed  the  Anthology  into  a  quar- 
terly review,  which  was  called  the  North  Ame- 
rican Review,  and  at  once  established  a  proud, 
and  I  trust,  a  permanent  literary  work  for  his 
country.  It  was,  indeed,  a  great  undertaking. 
The  taste  of  the  writers  of  this  country  had  not 
been,  at  that  time,  well  developed.  There  were 
two  schools,  or  rather  two  styles  then  in  vogue. 
The  quaintness  of  a  former  age  had,  from  some 
few  incipient  principles  of  taste,  become  un- 
fashionable, and  the  bold,  extravagant,  tasteless 
manner  of  writing  had  followed  it,  except  by  a 
few  who  were  disgusted  with  this  style  of  wri- 
ting, and  these  took  a  different  course,  and  wrote 
with  affected  simplicity.  They  were  both  bad 
enough ;  one  bloated,  flushed,  and  dropsical, 
and  the  other  lean,  emaciated,  and  bloodless. 
Tudor  was  well  prepared  by  precept  and  exam- 
ple, to  correct  these  evils  of  literature  ;  for  he 
was  not  only  learned,  but  mild,  modest,  and 
persevering.  He  offended  none  by  dictatorial 
air,  or  pedantic  assumption.  He  was  not  timid, 
however,  in  his  course  ;  nor  did  he,  like  most 
critics,  discover  an  unwillingness  to  write  any 
thing  but  reviews,  for  fear  of  finding  critics  in 
his  turn,  but  was  ready  to  be  subject  to  his  own 
rules.  He  wrote  two  or  more  works  :  two,  cer- 
tainly ;  for  his  own  name  is  affixed  to  one,  and 
the  other  was  avowed  by  him.  These  works 
show  no  small  share  of  thought,  but  are  more 


WILLIAM  TUDOR.  247 

remarkable  for  a  pure  and  gentlemanly  style 
than  for  any  extraordinary  efforts  of  genius. 

Mr.  Tudor  was  for  several  years  a  member  of 
the  legislature  of  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  and 
though  not  remarkably  popular  with  the  country 
members,  yet  he  was  respected  by  all  of  them. 
In  his  travels  he  had  so  disciplined  his  mind, 
that  he  seemed  too  mild  for  party  times  ;  and 
they  put  down  for  tameness  and  indifference, 
that  which  was  the  result  of  gentlemanly  feel- 
ings and  polished  manners.  It  can  be  said  of 
Mr.  Tudor,  that  he  spoke  merely  on  those  subjects 
in  which  he  was  most  particularly  interested  for 
the  commonwealth,  and  never  uttered  a  word  for 
popularity  or  fame.  Never  was  there  a  man  of 
more  singleness  of  heart,  or  purity  of  motives. 
Some  of  the  wise  members  of  the  legislature 
thought  him  a  little  romantic  ;  but  while  they 
voted  against  his  plans,  were  fully  convinced 
that  he  was  an  honest  man.  Most  of  the  mat- 
ters he  prepared,  when  in  that  body,  have  since 
been  acted  upon  ;  and  in  many  instances,  ac- 
cording to  his  wishes  at  that  time.  There  was 
no  avarice,  no  corroding  ambition  in  his  soul. 
He  was  a  bachelor,  and  only  wanted  an  elegant 
competency  ;  he  asked  no  more  ;  and  had  he 
possessed  more,  it  would  have  been  devoted  to 
the  advancement  of  letters  and  the  sciences. 
He  had  been  much  abroad,  but  never  lost  sight 
of  his  own  country  ;  and  in  fact  it  is  to  be  be- 


248  WILLIAM  TUDOR. 

lieved,  that  he  loved  it  the  more  from  residing 
in  other  countries. 

This  is  the  effect  of  travel  upon  a  well  regula- 
ted mind.  He  was  a  patron  and  friend  to  the 
Boston  Athenaeum,  and  considered  Harvard  Uni- 
versity as  an  Alma  Mater  indeed.  It  has  been 
said  that  he  first  suggested  the  erection  of  a 
monument  on  Bunker  Hill.  If  this  is  not  cor- 
rect, as  it  cannot  be,  he  was  the  mover  of  the 
plan  for  erecting  the  very  monument  which  has 
been  begun,  and  is  now  pretty  nearly  raised,  and 
which  will,  in  good  time,  be  finished.  He  went 
further  than  the  erection  of  a  simple  obelisk,  to 
catch  the  gaze  of  the  passing  traveller,  and  pre- 
pared a  temple  also  ;  not  only  as  a  repository 
of  the  archives  of  the  country,  but  of  the  relics 
of  the  antiquities  of  it  also.  This  was  a  noble 
plan,  and  will  be  followed  up,  most  religiously, 
in  due  time  ;  but  the  people  here  are  in  the  habit 
of  requiring  the  accomplishment  of  such  great 
matters  in  too  short  a  time. 

Mr.  Tudor  moved  in  the  most  intellectual  cir- 
cles in  his  native  city,  and  was  distinguished 
for  elevation,  refinement  and  accomplishments 
among  its  members.  Such  was  his  serenity  of 
temper  that  even  that  most  irritating  of  all  dis- 
eases, the  gout,  which  with  him  was  hereditary, 
and  severe,  never  disturbed  his  temper.  He 
pursued  his  labours  when  the  fit  was  upon  him 
and  wrote  with  composure  when  his  pain  was 


WILLIAM  TUDOR.  249 

almost  insupportable.  In  1822  Mr.  Tudor  was 
appointed  consul  to  Lima.  He  was  anxious  for 
this  office,  not  for  its  emoluments,  for  those  were 
trifling,  but  he  wished  to  read  the  character  of 
that  portion  of  the  world,  for  he  ksew  from  its 
history  that  it  must  have  many  new  features  in 
it,  and  it  had  just  come  into  the  family  of  nations. 
He  was  industrious  while  he  was  consul,  in  col- 
lecting  materials  for  some  future  work.  From 
Lima  he  was  sent  to  Brazil  as  charge  d'  affaires. 
In  this  situation  he  was  an  honour  to  ihis  coun- 
try. This  people  were  soon  apprised  of  his 
rank  as  a  literary  man,  and  highly  respected 
him  as  a  public  functionary.  In  some  most  criti- 
cal situations  he  maintained  the  dignity  of  his 
government,  and  at  the  same  time  insinuated 
himself  into  the  affections  of  the  Emperor.  The 
foreign  ministers  were  his  friends,  and  admirers, 
for  they  found  him  a  high  minded  man,  and  an 
open,  gentle,  yet  determined  politician.  Such 
men  should  be  sent  abroad,  who  are  the 
pride  of  the  people  at  home.  Mr.  Tudor  was 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  a  gentleman.  He 
descended  from  a  family  that  had  been  opulent 
for  several  generations,  although  by  the  changes 
of  fortune  he  inherited  nothing  of  consequence. 
His  father,  Judge  Tudor,  was  one  of  the  most 
accomplished  men  of  his  age.  He  was  a  law 
student  with  the  late  patriot,  John  Adams,  and 
Boon  after  coming  to  the  bar,  was  appointed 
22* 


250  WILLIAM  TUDOR. 

judge  advocate  general  of  the  army  of  Washing, 
ton,  then  at  Cambridge.  On  the  close  of  the 
year  1777,  he  was  called  on  to  conduct  the  trial 
of  col.  Henely,  arrested  on  charges  preferred 
by  General  Burguoyne,  for  oppression,  &c. 
to  some  of  his  soldiers.  The  English  general 
was  a  most  accomplished  scholar,  and  made  in 
this  trial  a  most  eloquent  and  able  argument  in 
support  of  the  charges  and  specifications  he  had 
brought  forward.  Tudor  has  often  said  that  it 
was  equal  to  any  speech  he  ever  heard  from  any 
one  ;  and  Burguoyne  said  the  young  American 
judge  advocate  went  through  his  duties  as  a  gen- 
tleman  and  a  man  of  learning  and  good  sense. 
Henely  was  acquitted. 

There  has  been  a  meagre  report  of  the  trial 
which  has  come  down  to  the  present  genera- 
tion,  but  from  which  nothing  of  importance  as  to 
the  particulars  can  be  learned ;  but  one  of  the 
court  some  years  since,  informed  me,  as  I  was 
anxious  to  learn  any  thing  of  General  Bur- 
guoyne,  that  thi^trial  called  forth  on  both  sides 
very  conspicuous  talents.  Judge  Tudor  has  been 
dead  only  about  vn  years,  and  is  remembered 
in  Boston  as  one  of  those  pleasant  and  intellec- 
tual men  that  one  meets  in  genteel  society,  and 
who  are  communicative  and  happy,  having  a 
large  circle  of  affectionate  acquaintance.  His 
son  William  was  the  idol  of  his  heart,  for  in  ear- 
ly youth  he  was  of  a  graver  mien  than  his  father, 


JUDGE   WASHINGTON.  251 

who  was  truly  one  of  the  most  playful  and  face- 
tious  men  that  ever  gave  zest  to  a  dinner,  or  life 
to  an  evening  party  ;  he  had  one  of  the  kindest 
dispositions  that  ever  man  possessed,  and  it 
shed  its  sweet  influences  every  where,  in  do- 
mestic and  public  life. 

The  papers  have  just  announced  that  Bushrod 
Washington,  the  senior  associate  judge  of  the 
.supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  died  at  Phil- 
adelphia,  while  on  a  circuit  of  his  official  duties. 
The  judge  was  an  excellent  man,  and  was  be- 
loved by  all  who  knew  him.  His  person  was 
under  the  common  size,  his  face  pale,  his  coun- 
tenance as  serene  as  if  he  had  passed  his  life  in 
a  cloister  ;  there  was  no  mark  of  passion,  or  re- 
sentment in  any  lineament  of  his  physiognomy. 
He  had  been  on  the  supreme  bench  for  thirty 
years,  and  never  had  but  one  of  his  decisions 
overruled  by  the  full  court.  He  was  so  cautious 
and  examined  every  subject  so  critically,  and 
thoroughly,  that  he  came  to  his  results  by  a  pure 
process  of  reasoning,  freed  from  the  prejudices 
and  partialities  which  so  easily,  beset  human  na- 
ture, even  in  high  places,  and  responsible  sta- 
tions. He  was  the  favourite  nephew  of  that 
great  and  good  man  who  has  given  immortality 
to  the  name  of  Washington,  and  was  his  imme- 
diate successor  at  Mount  Vernon.  In  this  man- 
sion for  many  years  he  has  displayed  all  the  vir- 


252  JUDGE  WASHINGTON. 

tues  of  domestic  life  and  exercised  all  those  hos- 
pitable feelings  so  prominent  in  the  character  of 
his  illustrious  uncle.  Judge  Washington  was 
not  content  with  a  faithful  discharge  of  his  du- 
ty as  a  magistrate  only,  but  added  to  it  the  la- 
bours of  a  member  of  almost  all  the  charitable 
societies  of  the  country,  which  are  so  many 
sacrifices  that  go  up  to  Heaven  to  be  heard  in 
mercy,  to  propitiate  through  a  Kedeemer,  the 
Father  of  all  things  toward  his  sinful  children  on 
Earth.  His  rank,  talents,  and  influence  in  socie- 
ty did  much  to  induce  the  wavering  to  join  in 
the  great  work  of  phi'anthropy  and  religion  and 
to  keep  steadfast  those  who  had  commenced  the 
work  in  good  earnest.  He  was  for  several  years 
President  of  the  Colonization  Society,  and  deep- 
ly engaged  in  the  objects  of  that  association.  He 
was  a  slave-holder,  but  he  was  not  insensible  to 
the  evils  of  the  system,  which  was  every  day 
impoverishing  his  native  state,  and  diminishing 
her  influence  in  the  Federal  government.  He 
had  the  right  feelings  on  the  subject  ;  they  were 
drawn  from  observation  and  experience,  the  true 
sources  of  intelligence  and  wisdom. 

Judge  Washington  was  so  unobtrusive  in  his 
manners,  so  delicate  and  refined  in  his  feelings, 
that  his  merits  were  not  sufficiently  known  to  the 
great  body  of  the  people,  for  them  to  estimate 
his  intellectual  and  moral  worth  correctly.  Like 
his  uncle,  he  died  childless,  and  left  his  estate 


JUDGE  WASHINGTON.  253 

to  a  collateral  branch  of  his  family,  who  will  now 
take  his  place  at  the  hospitable  mansion  of  the 
great  patriot  and  chieftain,  whose  name  belongs 
to  his  country  ;  of  whom  it  was  wisely  said,  that 
"  Heaven  wrote  him  childless,  that  millions  might 
find  in  him  a  father.  Mount  Vernon  should  no 
longer  be  the  property  of  an  individual,  for  it  has 
become  a  place  of  pilgrimage  for  every  patriot 
traveller  of  the  land  ;  and  foreigners  too,  consi- 
der the  spot  where  the  ashes  of  Washington  re- 
pose,  as  hallowed  ground.  His  bones  should 
ever  be  mouldering  there,  and  never  be  removed 
from  these  abodes  of  primitive  simplicity.  The 
nation  should  be  proprietors  of  the  soil  ;  the  na- 
tion should  guard  the*dead,  and  individuals  of 
his  family  should  be  relieved  from  the  perpetual 
vigils  at  his  tomb,  which  the  veneration  of  the 
people  for  the  memory  of  Washington  have 
made  it  indispensably  necessary  for  them  to 
keep.  The  capitol  is  not  a  proper  place  for  the 
ashes  of  the  dead.  It  should  be  the  lonely  spot, 
or  the  chancel  of  the  house  of  God.  No  echoes 
of  angry  passions,  or  party  strife,  should  be 
heard  in  the  chambers  of  the  mighty  dead  ;  no 
sound  should  there  be  heard  but  that  of  prayer 
and  mournful  music.  The  end  of  mortal  man 
is  there  ;  the  hopes  of  immortal  man  is  there  ; 
and  "  procul,  o  procul  este  profani." 


LETTER   XXXI. 


New- York,  ,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  HAVE  given  you  but  a  meagre  account 
of  the  men  of  mind  in  the  United  States.  The 
slight  outline,  perhaps  I  may  have  an  opportu- 
nity to  fill  up  during  the  course  of  the  summer. 
Of  the  beautiful  city  of  Philadelphia,  I  have  said 
nothing,  as  I  have  not  had  sufficient  opportuni- 
ties to  select  what  is  most  striking  in  the  char- 
acteristics of  that  literary  and  intelligent  place. 
The  people  of  Philadelphia  have  taken  the  lead 
in  the  arts,  and  set  a  good  example  to  the  other 
cities  in  the  Union,  which  has  been  followed  in 
some  of  them  with  great  spirit.  The  people  of 
this  city  have  more  excellent  paintings  than 
perhaps  can  be  found  in  any  other  in  the  Uni- 
ted States.  They  have  printed  more  editions  of 
valuable  works  than  other  cities  ;  but  perhaps  the 
mass  of  inventive  talent  of  the  nation  lies  farther 
to  the  north.  You  would  be  amused  to  observe 
the  activity  of  the  inventors  of  this  nation.  The 
Patent  Office  within  a  year  past  has  been  under 
the  care  of  a  man  of  genius,  of  the  first  order  of 


PATENT  OFFICE.  255 

intellect ;  his  perceptions  were  rapid  beyond 
description  ;  he  had  coursed  over  the  whole  field 
of  invention  in  the  ardour  of  youthful  genius, 
and  in  every  stage,  believed  that  every  track 
was  that  of  his  own  footsteps.  The  elements 
of  his  mind  to  many  of  his  friends  seemed  in  a 
state  of  absolute  confusion,  and  the  images  of 
things  past,  present  and  to  come,  to  crowd 
upon  him  at  once.  He  received  the  premi- 
um offered  for  a  plan  for  the  Capitol,  and  when 
it  was  altered,  it  was  lor  economy  sake,  not  for 
taste.  His  was  decidedly  better  than  the  one 
built  upon.  Not  a  model  ever  came  into  his 
office  for  a  patent  that  he  did  not  declare  that 
he  had  had  some  impression  of  the  same  thing, 
and  that  virtually,  he  was  a  prime  inventor  of 
it.  Dr.  Thornton  was  a  man  admired  by  all 
who  knew  him,  for  his  genius,  industry,  good 
feelings  and  true  philanthropy  and  charity,  his 
feelings  and  observations  were  those  of  a  man 
who  had  thought  much  on  every  subject.  The 
web  of  his  fame  was  such,  that  if  honestly  ex- 
amined by  the  warp,  one  could  find  a  thread  to 
match  any  other  that  could  be  exhibited.  This 
office  with  a  little  of  that  encouragement  that 
congress  might  bestow,  might  truly  be  made  a 
museum  of  science. 

The  Patent  Office  is  now  a  subject  of  deep  in- 
terest  to  the  nation.  By  a  law  of  the  United 
States,  passed  among  the  early  acts,  and  which 


256  PATENT  OFFICE. 

has  been  revised  by  several  subsequent  acts,  the 
drawings  and  models  of  all  the  machines,  and 
of  new  and  useful  inventions,  for  which  a  patent 
has  been  issued  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  were  required  to  be  deposited  in  the  Se- 
cretary's office ;  and  in  a  few  years  this  increas- 
ed greatly  in  importance  to  the  country,  and  re- 
quired large  apartments  for  the  models,  and  be- 
came, in  a  measure,  a  department  of  itself. 
Machines  of  complex  principles  and  of  great 
utility,  have  often  been  invented  by  men  of  but 
few  literary  acquirements,  who  could,  with  dif- 
ficulty, find  words  to  convey  the  outlines  of  the 
principles  brought  to  bear  in  their  patent. 
Loose  descriptions,  that  did  not  convey  the 
meaning  of  the  inventor,  or  such  ones  that  satis- 
fied the  inventor,  but  gave  no  correct  informa- 
tion of  the  invention  to  others,  were  every  day 
sent  to  the  office,  and  produced  no  little  confu- 
sion. This  has  been  changed,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure, by  time  ;  and  not  only  descriptions  of  in- 
ventions are  more  accurate,  but  the  models  are 
more  finished ;  and  of  course  the  whole  busi- 
ness of  the  office  goes  on  more  regularly.  There 
are  now  nearly  six  thousand  models  collected 
in  the  office  ;  many  of  them  of  exquisite  work- 
manship, others  of  careless  construction  ;  but 
they  exhibit,  as  a  whole,  an  interesting  group  of 
emblems,  or  representations,  "in  little"  of  what 
are  occuping  all  parts  of  our  country  ;  on  the 


GENERAL  REMARKS.  257 

streams,  the  hills,  within  and  without  doors,  in 
all  places  of  business,  are  found  the  marks  of 
mind  involving  all  the  great  principles  of  na- 
ture and  science. 

From  these  reasoners  on  motion  and  matter, 
we  may  proceed  to  another  class  of  philosophers 
which  may  be  less  useful,  but  not  less  acute, 
the  metaphysicians.  This  people  reason  an  all 
things  ;  their  institutions  and  the  nature  of  their 
government  in  all  its  minor  and  major  features 
induce  this  habit.  They  no  so'oner  see  effects 
than  they  go  on  to  find  out  causes  for  them  ; 
right  or  wrong,  they  must  and  will  have  a  rea- 
son for  every  thing.  Untrammelled  minds,  how- 
ever wild  they  may  run,  have  an  air  of  indepen- 
dence  about  them.  There  are  a  great  many 
errors  of  reasoning  among  free  minds,  but  no 
errors  of  the  market,  as  Lord  Bacon  calls  those 
settled  errors  of  thinking.  They  have  no  dog- 
mas in  their  creeds,  nor  hardly  any  creeds,  but 
such  as  they  alter  every  day.  There  is  no  state 
religion,  and  every  one  reasons  upon  God  and 
his  revelations,  as  he  is  persuaded  in  his  own 
mind. 

If  this  would  be  bad  in  England  and  other 
countries,  it  is  precisely  suited  to  this  people  and 
their  institutions. 

Having  the  literature  of  all  the  world  before 
them,  they  are  intelligent,  producing  some  fine 

as 


258  GENERAL  REMARKS. 

writers.  The  taste  of  criticism  is  cultivated  be- 
fore they  acquire  the  habit  of  writing.  And  in 
truth  there  are  but  few  writers  among  them,  ex- 
cept writers  for  periodical  journals,  considering 
the  number  of  men  capable  of  holding  a  pen. 
Opening  their  ports  to  all  foreigners,  and  their 
literature,  and  taxing  their  presses  with  reprints, 
until  the  whole  country  is  gorged  with  foreign 
literature,  there  is  nothing  to  bring  forward  the 
offspring  of  their  own  minds.  The  growth  of 
English  literature  was  advanced  by  depreciating 
the  French  writers.  The  following  couplet  was 
constantly  in  the  mouths  of  the  English, 

"  The  sterling  bullion  of  an  English  line, 

Drawn  in  French  wire  would  through  whole  pages  shine." 

This  was  false  enough  ;  but  it  answered  a 
good  national  purpose.  German  literature,  which 
now  is  leading  off,  as  among  the  highest  in  the 
world,  was  half  a  century  ago,  nothing  ;  because 
they  depreciated  their  own  writers,  and  read 
French  works  only.  You  ought  not  to  judge 
this  people  by  their  writers  ;  for  you  might  as 
fairly  infer  their  dress  from  their  manufacturing 
establishments,  as  their  general  knowledge  from 
their  writers.  They  dress  in  English  broadcloth 
coats,  and  store  their  minds  with  English  stand- 
ard  works  ;  but  this  people  will  much  sooner 
clothe  themselves  in  their  owa  woollens  than 
increase  their  stock  of  knowledge  by  encour- 
aging their  own  authors.  It  is  hard  to  break  up 


GENERAL  REMARKS.  259 

old  habits  ;  the  good  matron  will  not  be  driven 
to  moisten  her  lips,  after  her  morning  prayers 
or  evening  walk,  with  a  decoction  of  sage  and 
balm,  when  gun-powder  and  imperial  teas  are 
at  hand.  I  must  not  be  misunderstood — there  is 
a  spirit  of  education  going  on  among  the  people, 
from  the  nursery  to  the  pulpit,  the  bench,  and  to 
the  halls  of  legislation  ;  all  is  full  of  life  and  im- 
provement ;  no  people  under  heaven  have  a 
greater  mass  of  ready,  wholesome,  business  lit- 
erature than  this.  There  is  much  done,  and 
that  ably  done  in  all  the  walks  of  life  ;  but  in 
the  regions  of  elevated,  tasteful  letters,  but  few 
are  to  be  found  ;  and  those  few  are  seldom  seen. 
They  have  no  inducement  to  cultivate  literature  ; 
for  as  such,  it  is  the  most  unprofitable  of  all 
things  ;  who  would  write  a  book  when  a  fresh 
English  one  might  be  had  from  Campbell,  Moore, 
or  Mackintosh  for  little  more  than  the  price  of 
untaxed  paper  ?  This  is  a  people  of  liberal  feel- 
ings and  generous  conduct ;  they  build  churches, 
states  houses,  and  colleges,  but  they  have  not 
as  yet  extended  any  thing  like  liberal  patronage 
to  their  authors,  if  authors  they  may  be  called 
who,  feeling  the  divinity  within  them,"occasion- 
ally  hazard  property  and  quiet,  to  vent  them- 
selves  in  prose  or  rhyme. 


ERRATA. 

Page  13,  line  13,  for  1809,  read  1812. 

Page  41,  line  7,  from  bottom,  after  advantages,  dele  perioj  ;— an  » 

line  8  after  fashion  add  a  period. 

Page  49,  line  4,  from  top,  for  His  often"  read  Tt  is  often, 
Page  153,  line  7,  from  top,  for  Geoige  G.  Percival  read  J!;.nes  G 

Percival, 

Page  170  lines  6  &  7  fromtoj>,/br  precious,  read,  precocious. 
Page  67,  1st  line,  for  sage  whom  all  men,  read  sage  from  whom 

all  men,  etc. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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